Fighting Murphy's Law
by SoundShield11
Summary: Join Embry as he faces pessimism's guiding rule, Murphy's Law. Will he get the one he loves or will he be a victim of the powerful edict? Slash M/M, Quil X Embry. Rated M for dark themes and adult situations. This one will be angsty. AU to an extent.
1. The Law

AN: I'd like to welcome you to my newest piece, "Fighting Murphy's Law," or FML (acronym pun intended). Murphy's Law can be most simply defined as "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." It is one of my mantras and I think it will be a fitting concept for this story. This is a warning to those of you who don't like angst. This will not be a light story. I've been brooding on a lot of ways to cause trouble for one of my favorite wolves, so nothing is off limits. The story is rated M for Mature. I can't say to what extent I'll be taking that rating, but expect dark themes, hurt, and adult situations. Lemons may or may not happen. I truly haven't decided, but we'll see. As usual for my fics, this one will be slash (M/M), so it's better for you to know that right off the bat if it's not your kind of thing.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

As a special note, I'd like to dedicate this story to some people that I know have experienced a lot of downturns in life this year. Matt, Rich, and Seth, this one goes out to you guys. I sincerely hope that you find your way through your darkest times. You're in my thoughts.

All right, let's get this started.

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"My name is Embry Call, and I have a problem." I thought as I worked on my latest carving. Wouldn't it be nice to just be able to admit something like that to the world?

I guess you could say that I really have a lot of problems. Firstly, I'm an outsider. There's nothing like being picked on for being from another place. You see, my mother is Makah, but she moved here to Quileute territory before I was born. She gained sanctuary by claiming that my father was part of their tribe, but they never actually pushed the issue.

Oh yes, my mother. We have what you'd call a standoffish relationship. It's not like she beats me or anything. She'd never want to pay me that much attention. In the rare instance that we do talk, it's never about anything good. Instead, she'll simply glance at me on occasion, a deep brooding look beneath her eyes. I don't have to be a mind reader to know what's going on. She resents me for our life, and I can't say I blame her. She was happy with her tribe, but then I had to come along. They'd never tolerate an unwed birth, so she fled. Now she was stuck here on a reservation that never accepted her, all because I had been born. I wouldn't be able to please her, and after all these years, I'd pretty much given up trying. I'd always be a failure in her eyes.

Speaking of my father, I've always wondered who he was. Was he even actually Quileute or had she just come to the nearest reservation and made it up? I guess it's a mystery that I'll never solve, but I've always been curious. Considering how ashamed of me mom was, I had no doubt that I'd have disappointed him just as much as I had her. It's not like he'd ever tried to get involved in my life. Did he even know that I existed? If he had, would he have cared?

I felt my phone buzz as I got a text. The prepaid phone took up most of the money that I was able to build up doing odd jobs for the neighbors that put up with me, but it was worth it. I put down the piece of wood that I'd been working on. Wood carving had become the one thing that I enjoyed while I was thinking. Completely unusual hobby, I know, but it was something that I didn't need others for. I'd started a few years ago when I saw some really impressive figurines. I saved up enough to buy a set of knives and a sharpener, so the investment was pretty low, which was a must when you didn't have much money. A lot cheaper than the video games that everyone else used to distract themselves. Not that anyone actually knew about this. The collection of figures that I'd made over the years was for my eyes only. Most of them were of wolves, which had always been an obsession of mine. Occasionally some other animal would catch my interest, but the wolf was my go to inspiration. I had a box of them as evidence.

The text was from Quil. Apparently he was hanging out with Jake as he worked on his rusty old Rabbit. That car was never going to be operational, but I admired him for trying. I stashed away all of my working materials before throwing on a t-shirt and heading over to Jake's garage. I'd been feeling a lot warmer lately, so I lounged around the house without a shirt whenever possible, but it's not generally an acceptable practice to walk around half-naked in public. Fully dressed, I headed out the door. The reservation is pretty small, so the 10 minute walk was nothing. Once I got there, Quil and I chatted as we watched Jake trying to take apart something in the engine.

I guess there's one more problem that I should admit to. It's the one that probably bothers me more than all of the others. See, everybody knows about the other insecurities that I have. Jake & Quil don't judge me for being an outsider or for the fact that I only know who my mom is. Both of them have lost a parent as well, so although it's not the same, they can relate to a certain extent to only having one parent. Albeit, they're closer with their parent than I am with mine, but that's just life.

No, the other problem that I had would compound all of the others. It'd definitely make me more of an outsider and probably lead to me being kicked out of my home, if not the reservation. You see, in recent years I've come to realize that I'm gay. The small-town mindset doesn't really stand behind such a thing, so it's the one thing I've never admitted out loud. Everyone just accepts me as being more soft-spoken and shy. Not that most people ever pay enough attention to notice, so it's not the hardest secret to keep.

As if that weren't bad enough, I'm in love. I know you're probably thinking that it's just some hormonal thing, but I recognize it for what it is. I'm completely in love with my best friend, Quil Ateara. His name alone is enough to make me smile. It's not just because he's one of the only people that's ever paid attention to me. I love everything about him. His personality is warming and friendly. He always has jokes. No matter the situation, he always makes me feel like I'm wanted around. If he figures out that I'm in a bad mood, he never fails to do something to cheer me up.

It didn't begin as love of course. We were just really good friends at first. When I first started school, most kids stayed away from me. Jacob Black and Quil were the exceptions and they'd done everything to make me feel like part of their group. Even as a youngster I had appreciated it, and that didn't change as the years passed. Slowly, however, my feelings had evolved. Call it puberty or whatever you want, but recently I had become completely enamored with him. Not that I'd ever tell him, though. He was always flirting with girls and had racked up more slaps for horrible pick up lines than I could count. It never deterred him, however.

"Yo, Embry, are you listening to a word I'm saying?" Quil suddenly asked.

I looked at him confusedly before realizing that I'd completely zoned out of our conversation.

"God, man. I'm starting to think that you've started smoking or something!" Quil chuckled, looking up at me.

It was weird having to look down at my friends. In the past several weeks I'd shot up several inches. I'd always been taller than Quil, but it was distinctly noticeable now. In addition, I'd packed on some pretty good muscle. I wasn't bulky or anything, but had a strong, lean figure. Not sure how it happened, but I sure as hell wasn't complaining.

"Sorry…what were you saying?" I asked.

"I was wondering if you were planning on going to the bonfire tonight. Jake and I were totally planning on heading over to it. Word on the street is that there might even be alcohol!" Quil rattled off excitedly. At 16 we'd never really had many opportunities to get drunk, so Quil was pumped to try.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. It's not like I have any plans tonight" I murmured.

"Awesome!" he said, slapping me on the back.

"You realize that the elders are going to be there, right Quil?" I heard Jake finally speak up from beneath the hood.

"Of course they will, at least at the beginning. That's for all the legends and stuff. It's what happens later that's better. Uley and his gang may not be good for much, but I've heard that they know how to throw down." He chirped.

Sam Uley was treated like a God among men around here. He'd gathered a pair of followers, all brandishing the same short hair and pumped up physiques. If I wasn't so intimidated by the 'hall monitors on steroids' as we so affectionately described them, I'd probably have to admit that they looked like an impressive group. There was just something off about them though.

As night fell, Jake finally stopped working on the car and went to get cleaned up. Quil and I waited for him before the three of us took off towards the beach. As always, the bonfire was burning fiercely and there was an awesome pile of food spread out over a few tables. We all grabbed some before sitting down to listen to Jake's father begin to tell the tribe's legends. Being around Jake and Quil so much, I'd heard all of these before. Billy Black was our tribe's chief, while Quil's grandfather was an elder on the council. Their families held a lot of power around here.

I listened to the stories and wondered if maybe these legends were why I'd always liked wolves. They always talked about how important the animal's spirit was to these parts. I guess growing up around the stories must have influenced me in some way. The elders always romanticized how wonderful the beasts were, acting almost as if they actually defended the tribe like their fairy tales said.

After a while, the legends ended and the older attendees took their leave. It wasn't too long before the bonfire became an all-out party. One of the older guys opened up the back of their truck, revealing several coolers full of beer. At a buck a piece, there was no doubt that Quil would be headed over there immediately. Sure enough, he returned with three beers.

"First round's on me" he said with a grin, handing Jake and I each a bottle. The music began to pump and people were dancing in a giant crowd. Quil was quickly in the middle of it, making a fool out of himself as usual. I chose to stay on the sidelines and nurse my drink. I'd given Jake a couple dollars and he'd brought me back another two beers and we just sat and chatted while watching the fire. It'd been a while since he hadn't been distracted by his car, so it was nice to actually catch up a bit.

After a while, I finished my third and headed to get another beer. I had a few more singles on me, which I was grateful for. I bought three bottles, planning to repay Quil by covering another round. I looked for him, but realized he was trying to chat up some girls as usual. Maybe it was the alcohol, but I was more disturbed by it than usual tonight.

I pocketed two of the bottles and opened the other, beginning to walk along the beach. I stopped walking once I finished the first, sitting down in the sand and looking out at the water as I began sipping on the next one. Considering that this was the most I'd ever had to drink, I had a pretty damn good buzz going on. I finished it and was about to start on the last one when I heard someone approaching. I tried to stand up, but stumbled back down to the ground and just sat there, feeling the world rocking back and forth.

"Damn, Em, we were wondering where you went. Are you drunk?" Quil asked with a smirk.

I remained silent, electing to simply look out at the ocean. When I didn't respond, Quil plopped down beside me.

"Come on, Em. What's wrong?" he asked concerned.

"Nothing's wrong. Just go back to the party" I said as cheerily as I could.

"I've known you long enough to know when you're lying to me, so spill it" he demanded.

I sighed. After all of these years, Quil and Jake could see through me. "I'm in love with someone, all right?" I said deflatedly, hoping that he'd leave it at that.

"Really? I've never seen you actually take an interest in anyone. Who is she?" he asked as his curiosity grew. Of course he wouldn't drop it.

"None of your business. Now, will you please just let me drink?" I tried to joke, but he was having none of it.

He tackled me to the ground and began poking at my sides, tickling me the way he had when we were younger. It was one weakness that I'd never been able to overcome.

"Just tell me who it is!" he said, unrelentingly continuing his assault.

"No!" I yelled between laughs. He pushed on, however, and I knew that he'd never give up. Couple that determination with one too many drinks and I blurted out the one thing that I never wanted to.

"It's you, dammit!" I yelled, immediately causing him to freeze.

"What did you say?" He asked, looking down at me.

"I…uh…shit…" was all I could come up with. Elegant I know. In my lockdown, I wasn't even able to play it off as a joke.

In an instant Quil was up off of me and walking up the beach.

"Quil, wait!" I yelled, stumbling to catch up to him.

"Stay away from me Embry. I'm sorry. I…I can't deal with this." He said hurriedly before walking back towards the fire. I stopped in my tracks. What had I done? This was the whole reason that I'd never wanted to tell him my feelings. A tear ran down my cheek as I realized that I'd probably just lost the only two friends that I'd ever had. With that thought, I took off towards my house, feeling a burning pain running through my chest.

**Quil's POV**

I had just gotten home from the bonfire. I left directly after walking away from him…Embry. Those words had been the hardest that I'd ever said. I turned my back on my best friend and basically told him that I wanted nothing to do with him after he'd admitted that he cared about me. What the hell was my problem? Embry didn't deserve to put up with someone like me.

You see, I've known that I love Embry for a long time. Hearing him say that he cared about me was one of the greatest feelings ever. And what had I done in response? Shunned him like everyone else had in this town. I knew how he'd feel. In a single word: crushed. It's the same way I'd have felt if the situation had been reversed.

You may be wondering why I did it. Am I just that cold that I don't care about my best friend's emotions? No, if that were the case I wouldn't feel like shit right now. I would never toy with Embry like that. The truth is it was fear. Fear of my family's reaction. I knew my grandfather's opinion on homosexuality being wrong. He'd instilled that thought in me for as long as I can remember. He was a man of traditions. That included tribal conditions and what was "right" for the world. A man loving another man didn't fit into that. I also fear the town. I know that I'd probably be kicked out of the house if he found out. Where would I turn? The reservation was close-minded. The people regularly make crude jokes and insult anyone for "acting like a fag." Gotta love the small town feel sometimes. In general, I guess it was a fear of being looked at with disgust. Knowing that I'd never be seen as me. I'd be hated because I didn't fit in with the standard. As much as I loved Embry, I couldn't face that. I was pathetic.

I figured that if I presented myself to enough girls, I'd eventually get straightened out. I was willing to do anything to not be a leper. Everyone just thought that I was a horndog, but the truth is, I really just wanted to find some way to take my mind off my true feelings. Guess that desperation didn't work in my favor though. I could never hold a relationship. Hell, I rarely got past the first 10 seconds without getting laughed at or slapped, but when I did, I could never make it seem right. I loved one person, but I couldn't let myself cave in to those desires. As much as it hurt to think about, maybe it'd be easier if he hated me for what I did to him. He deserved better than a coward and if he thought I was just a jerk, maybe he'd get over it. I just needed to put on a smile, tell my jokes, and act like nothing was wrong. It's the outer shell that everyone knew and loved…

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Well, that's the first chapter. Hope that you enjoyed it. This is just the start of what I have in store for our young half-Makah wolf. As a note, the primary POV will be Embry's, but occasionally I'll throw in another view to provide information (or just because I want to). I do hope that you'll voice your opinion on the story. Feedback really does help me as a writer, and I'm curious what you think, positive or negative. Also, as a note, the updates for this one might be a little slower for a while. Wanted to get it started though...


	2. The Aggression

AN: Firstly, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed. I've decided that I'm going to respond to reviews via PM this time instead of posting them in the story itself. Even though not many people read the opening chapter, a lot of you chose to provide feedback on it. I am quite grateful for your words and hope that you continue to be kind enough to review. All right, let's get this going. I've decided to put a quote at the beginning of each chapter. I wish I was creative enough to come up with them myself, but alas, I am not. I just find them all to be amusing.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"_To know yourself is the ultimate form of aggression."_

**Embry's POV**

I stumbled my way in the general direction of my house. I felt like hell. I began to sweat ridiculously as the ball of fire began to tear at my insides. Is this what alcohol did to a person? I'd already spewed my biggest secret and now I felt like I was going to die. Would that be the worst thing ever right now?

I couldn't walk any further, collapsing onto the ground. Nobody was around as I rolled over onto my back, squeezing my eyes closed and groaning in pain. Suddenly I felt the fire explode, consuming my entire body. Just like that, the pain began to fade quickly. Talk about a sudden change, but I wasn't complaining. That's when I finally decided to open my eyes.

The first thing I noticed was my eyesight had changed dramatically. Even in the dark, everything looked crystal clear. Below my eyes, I could see a snout. I jerked my head down as I scrambled up, but I was no longer capable of being on two legs. Below me were four paws, covered in grey fur with lighter splotches in various places. I whipped my head around and saw my massive body and…a tail! What the hell is going on?

I wasn't sure what was happening to me, but I knew that I needed to get out of the open. Either I had somehow become some giant creature or, more likely, I was hallucinating. Whichever was true, I needed to get out of sight. I'd catch some flak for not being home, but it'd be much worse if someone found me out of my mind. I took off into the nearby woods, hoping to use the trees as cover.

Once I got into the forest, I began to run. I didn't know where I was going, but I wanted to get away from here. How could I have been so stupid? A little bit of alcohol and I'd slipped up in a way that I never thought possible. 3 words had cost me my best friends. I had no doubt that Jake would side with Quil. No matter what anyone said, I was still the outsider of the group.

I ended up collapsing at the hollowed out base of a tree. I still wasn't sure if I was imagining all of this, but the exhaustion that I was feeling from everything was very real. I curled up into a ball and lay there whimpering. Eventually my mind shut down and I was pulled into the deep abyss of sleep.

The next day I woke up to the sound of voices. I looked around, but couldn't see anyone. Still, their conversation was clearly ringing through my head.

"I can't believe that we're having to run patrols today. Would one morning off really kill us?" One of them complained.

"No kidding. It's a good thing we can't get hungover. Still, didn't get much sleep." The other replied.

"Will you two just shut up? We do still have a duty here, and I gave you last night off. Just quit complaining for 10 minutes and run your routes!" the other commanded.

"Yeah, yeah. You're the boss. I guess I'll take the east and – hey wait, do you guys feel that?" the first one asked.

"Feel what Jared?" the leader responded. Jared…I think he was one of Sam's followers.

"There's…something in the air. It's almost like someone's phased, but there's some kind of distortion. I can't see them." He replied. Phased? What were these people talking about. Better yet, how could I hear them?

"I've got a scent" the third one said. Was it me that they were coming for? If so, could I take on three of whatever was coming? I at least wasn't going to be caught off guard. If it _was_ me they were trying to track, they'd have a surprise waiting for them.

I scampered up a large tree and perched on the largest branch I could find. Either this dream was the most vivid thing ever or I really was still some kind of wild animal. No matter what, I wasn't falling into whatever trap these other people were trying to set.

I heard them approaching through the woods. A rustling of the forest nearby gave way to three giant wolves stalking into the small area that I had been camped in.

"The scent ends here." One of them said.

"If there's someone near, we need to take care of them. There's nobody else showing the signs, so this must be a rogue or someone from another pack. We need to track it down." The leader commanded. Ok...that's just weird. I can hear a group of wolves communicating? More importantly, I was right. They were after me and weren't happy about my being here.

They began sniffing around the area. Then the brown one was right underneath my branch. If I could take him out, then I might have a chance against the other two. With that thought, I launched myself downward, driving my full weight down onto him.

"What the hell!" he screamed out. I locked my teeth down on his throat before he could recover. I didn't bite in though. Did I really want to kill him? I mean, I loved wolves and these just seemed so...human.

Suddenly I saw the other two appear several feet away. They kept their distance, knowing that I had their comrade in my grasp.

"Uh…guys, any ideas? I'd kinda like to make it back to the reservation today." He tried joking.

"Shut up Jared. We don't know what this guy wants. I don't want to risk you getting hurt." The leader said.

"Oh come on Sam. 20 bucks says you can take him before he kills me. Whatcha say? You succeed and pay up. If you don't, then take it out of my wallet." He chuckled nervously. Wow…that's pretty impressive. I guess we all have our coping mechanisms to situations.

The grey one took a step forward with his teeth bared. I closed my teeth a little tighter around his friend's neck and let out a growl. "Stand down Paul!" Sam commanded. Wait a minute…Sam, Jared, and Paul? The hall monitors?

"Wolf. Can you hear me?" Sam asked.

"Yes" I thought. But how was I going to let him know that?

"Wait, if you understand me, that means you share my pack link. Who are you?" he demanded.

Had he heard me? "Embry Call. What's it to you?" I responded.

"Wait, isn't Embry supposed to be Makah? He shouldn't be able to phase." Paul questioned.

"Umm…more important issue. Any chance you can ask him to not kill me? Or can I? Hey um…Embry. Can you not kill me?" the wolf below me asked.

"That depends. Do you plan on attacking me?" I asked.

"No. It looks like you're part of this pack, even if I can't see into your mind like I can with everyone else. We are not enemies." Sam replied.

I felt satisfied with the answer. I released Jared from my grip and backed away slowly.

"So…thanks for not ending me." He said as he scrambled back up.

"Yeah…sorry about that. I heard you guys coming and you were talking about dealing with me. Kinda got a hostile vibe there." I said, trying to be light about the fact that I could've just killed one of them.

"It's weird. I can't pick up much from you unless you want it to be seen. I thought that it meant that there was a rogue or something. Plus, you weren't really expected to be capable of phasing" Sam said.

"I could see your thoughts and your speaking to each other. It's a bit weird. Never been inside someone else's mind…" I mumbled.

"So, we're just going to forgive him for almost killing Jared?" Paul barked.

"Yeah, we are. No harm, no foul. Plus, I'd be willing to put $10 that I could've escaped before he finished me" Jared laughed.

"I'll take your bet if you want to test that theory" I chuckled.

"See, I like this guy!" he responded. All animosity was gone after that.

I spent the rest of the day with them. I learned that I was part of their pack and because of it I was expected to help protect the reservation. Talking to Sam, I learned that it was likely that we were brothers. The bloodline was only strong in a few families. Quil & Jake were the other two, but their families had always been stable. Sam's dad, however, was more known to be wild. Sam didn't seem to really like the fact, but he welcomed me into his pack anyway.

I learned the basics that first day. The fact that we had a truce with vampires nearby surprised me. Apparently we hunted those that killed humans. We also shredded our clothes if we were still wearing them, but we could avoid it by tying them to our legs before the transformation. We would have patrols, could communicate mentally while we were wolves, and needed to be careful around normal humans. I was given permission to explain this all to my mother if I wished, but I wasn't really interested in doing that right now. I was a bit afraid of how she'd take it or that she'd think I'm on drugs or something. I went back home that night, finally being told how to "phase" back. Mom wasn't pleased with my not coming home the night before, but she let it drop after a few minutes of lecturing. I felt relieved to return to my bedroom.

Memories of what had caused all of this flooded back into my head. Quil…it hurt to think about him. I wouldn't be able to talk to him or Jake anymore, but that probably was for the best since they wouldn't want me around at this point anyway. At least I had the pack. They didn't seem so bad now that I knew why they were so tight knit. Still…what would they think if Quil phased. They couldn't read my mind, but how would they react once they found out I was gay? These troublesome thoughts plagued my mind as I drifted off into a restless night of sleep.

The next day was interesting. I had my first true set of patrols, running the borders with the others. There were four of us at this point. Sam was our Alpha, larger in both his human and wolf forms than any of us. He had the ability to use an Alpha Command on anyone in the pack and no one could refuse it. I shuddered at the thought that someone had that much power, but Sam didn't believe in abusing it. I learned about his first phasing. My one night of shock was nothing compared to the two weeks he'd spent in the wilderness.

The second to have phased was Jared. Sam hadn't been able to catch the signs in time, so he hadn't been there to warn him before the change. He quickly caught word that the boy had disappeared though, and after a few days Jared had been able to phase back. Paul was fortunate in that he'd actually been prepped for what was coming. Still, as someone who was always short-tempered without the wolf gene, he had a lot of trouble controlling it. He'd been working on that though. Apparently Sam had done this thing called imprinting on a girl named Emily, but in a fit of rage had scarred her. I'd never actually met her, but the pack had felt every bit of pain that Sam had from the instance. Apparently she had forgiven him though, but everybody took the somber lesson out of it. In fact, both of the others had imprints as well. Jared had connected with a girl from his class named Kim. He hadn't told her about the wolves, but he would be allowed to if he ever felt comfortable with it. Paul had imprinted on a girl I'd seen a few times. Her name was Leah and her parents were part of the council with Jake & Quil's family heads. She was aware of the legends, but didn't know about their truth yet either. It was expected that her brother would someday join us though. I'd hung out a bit with him in the past, mainly because he was so loyal to Jake. What did this mean for me? All three wolves in the pack had found a soul mate. Was I capable of it? Would fate put me with some girl? I couldn't help but wonder if I'd be that upset if I found someone to be devoted to. At least that would get my mind off of Quil…

After several hours of patrols, Sam instructed us to all meet up at a certain location. We converged and I pulled on my cutoffs. I'd always wondered why Sam and his followers always wore such minimal clothing, but our extremely high temperatures made a full set of clothes stifling, not to mention that they'd be awkward to carry on our leg.

We walked out of the woods when I began to take in the sounds of the region. Waves were crashing on rocks. I immediately froze. We were at the ocean. I hated the ocean. I'm not particularly afraid of many things, but that endless body of water scares the shit out of me. I'd once got in a fight with a riptide as a child and never shaken the feeling of helplessness that came with it. I was on the verge of drowning, having lost the ability to fight it any longer. Some guy had pulled me out as I began to sink, but I never got over it. Since then, I hadn't left the sandy shores and I had no interest in changing that. To put it simply, standing here on the cliffs terrified me.

I began to hang back as the others called to me. "Come on, Embry!" Jared yelled.

"Uh…no, I'm good. Not a big fan of the ocean." I murmured.

"Oh come on, you're a wolf! Nothing can hurt you out there. Consider it your rite of passage." Paul said, walking towards me.

"Sorry guys. I don't really want to do whatever it is you have in mind." I said, slowly stepping back towards the forest.

Suddenly Paul was right in front of me, a glint in his eye. I wasn't fast enough to stop from being thrown over his shoulder. Panic ensued as he began walking towards the edge of the cliff. I was thrashing and beginning to hyperventilate, but Paul was just laughing at my reaction. It wasn't until I began trembling on the verge of phasing that they realized that I wasn't joking.

"Paul! STOP!" Sam's voice resonated around us. Paul just looked at him before walking back to the woods and putting me down. I slowly began to breathe again as I felt the terror beginning to subside. As the tremors began to fade, I became aware that the others were looking at me oddly.

"I…really don't like the ocean" I mumbled, reddening at the admission of my fear. Only Quil & Jake knew about that. They had been there that day...

"Sorry. I didn't think that you were being serious. Didn't mean to be so much of an ass." Paul apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just gonna head home. You guys have fun." I said, turning back into the woods. With that, I headed back. As much as I appreciated the pack, I really wanted to just have some time to wrap my head around everything.

**Quil's POV**

I had hoped that I might get a chance to talk to him. It didn't take me long to realize that I didn't want my best friend to hate me. I at least needed to seek his friendship back. I didn't deserve it, but I couldn't imagine my life without him being near me. I just hoped he would forgive me for being so harsh to him.

I didn't see Embry the day after the fire. Jake and I hung out in his garage, but it wasn't the same. Watching him work wasn't nearly as interesting without Embry there to talk to. The next day, we walked along the beach. It was a nice day and he wanted to actually spend some time in the sun. It was a rare instance where it actually made an appearance after all. As we walked along, something suddenly caught my eye. I looked up to see Sam and his minions approaching the cliff. It wasn't unusual to see them together doing stupid things. They got a rush out of pulling stunts like cliff-diving. What shocked me is that there was another person standing near them. They may have been quite far away, but I'd recognize that tall figure anywhere…Embry.

What is going on? Embry…with them? And near the cliff at that? I watched as he struggled against one of them before getting put down and walking away. I knew he would want to put distance between him and the water. He wasn't the biggest fan of the beach, but the cliffs? Those jerks didn't know how terrified he really was. He shouldn't be near them. They don't know anything about him!

That's when it hit me. He'd chosen to start spending time with them. I'd truly driven him away. He had joined Sam's cult – a group that we had often voiced our disdain for – because I had turned him away. Not even I could fake a smile as that realization sunk in. Embry had distanced himself from me, and even though I completely deserved it, it hurt to see my best friend gone. Dammit, why did I have to be such a coward?

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I kinda like writing a slight glance from the opposite POV. Obviously, it's not enough to really capture everything from both sides, but I enjoy the quick look. If enough people don't like it, I could drop it. Wouldn't want to detract from the primary POV after all. Looking forward to hearing your opinions!

Also, my goal is to update this twice a week. It may not always be possible, as real life does have me busy at times, but I will do my best to have a chapter ready for posts midweek & during the weekend.


	3. The Nature

AN: Thank you everyone for your reviews. You have already been amazing at this early stage of the story. I know this isn't a pairing that has been ventured into very often, but I hope you all keep an open mind to the two lesser-used wolves. Also, this is a warning that this chapter may venture into some uncomfortable concepts. As always, I appreciate your feedback and am curious to hear your opinions on things.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"_Nature always sides with the hidden flaw"_

**Embry's POV**

I began to fall into the same routine with everyone. We patrolled on a daily basis, even if we hadn't found any vampires yet. Signs were beginning to show, however. They were only trace scents, but it put us on alert. We would normally split up in pairs, each taking two sides of the reservation. I noticed that the others seemed to rotate their routes, as I never was paired with the same wolf on consecutive days, despite keeping the same borders. I think Sam was trying to keep me off of the border near the ocean. I wasn't going to ask, but I appreciated the sentiment.

After we'd run the borders, we normally met back up at Sam's. His imprint, Emily, was an amazing cook and constantly provided food for us. I know that they had help from the council, but I still felt like I was imposing on them. She seemed to sense my hesitation and always insisted that I join them. As much as I appreciated it, I always felt uncomfortable around them. I'd never had someone that actually cared for me. Considering that I'd never been in a relationship for obvious reasons – and the aforementioned lack of positive emotions at home – I wasn't used to the vibe here. I guess I had just grown used to neutrality.

One night my mom had caught me coming into the house after a late night patrol. We'd been running for hours because of a strong trail, but ultimately ended up with nothing. It was so frustrating to have these creatures a step ahead of us. Anyway, mom was not too pleased when I traipsed into the house around midnight.

"And just where have you been all day?" she asked, not disguising her annoyance.

"I was out with friends. I lost track of time." I said casually. I mean, it's summer. Why does it even matter?

"Listen Embry. You know that you've got a curfew. In the past week you've disappeared one night with no explanation and now I find you creeping in late like this? You owe me an explanation!" she demanded, her voice rising as the rant continued.

"I'm sorry, but I need you to trust me. I'm not doing anything bad…" I deadpanned. Maybe it would be easier to just tell her. Just not yet. I needed to get a grip on everything first.

"You're not going to tell me, are you? I've already heard that you were seen with that gang that everybody seems to think highly of. Are you becoming a thug or something?" she questioned, refusing to let it drop.

"It's not a gang. They're just a group of friends that like to hang out. It's not that unusual." I implored.

"I will not have you 'hanging out' with that Uley boy and his group of misfits!" She spat.

That's when it hit me. "Does this have anything to do with his dad? Is it true that Sam's my brother?" I asked, turning the tide of the conversation.

"We've discussed this before Embry. You are not to ask about whoever _he_ is!" She yelled.

"Guess it's true then. Better than some of the alternatives" I mumbled to myself. Unfortunately she heard it too.

"You ungrateful little mongrel! I've given you everything you've had and you still don't appreciate anything. You know what, you're grounded! I don't want you leaving this house until I say so!" She fumed before angrily stomping to her room.

Shit. Maybe I'd chosen the wrong time to bring that up. I guess it'd gotten me off the hook with getting in late, but now I had other issues. I would still be required to do patrols and I doubt that "I'm grounded" would work as an excuse for them. Guess I should be glad that she worked, but if I got caught…I shuddered at that thought. Our relationship was rockier than usual right now, and this wasn't helping things.

I lay on the bed as I let my thoughts consume me. Why couldn't things just be easy? Nothing ever seemed to go that way for me. Even when one thing would seem decent, others would fall to shit. I must have been a real asshole in a previous life or something. I finally found some sleep, but it was far from restful. I continuously relived Quil's rejection. It was even more depressing knowing that it was a _memory_ rather than a fear. He really didn't want anything to do with me now and the pain of that knowledge was beginning to gnaw at me.

The next day I left the house to go on my usual patrol. I told Sam what had happened and he apologized, but admitted that he wouldn't be able to let me off of patrols. We were beginning to pick up stronger scents, so if anything we needed to add to our patrols. I had a feeling that I needed to bite the bullet and deal with mom. Either she'd accept it and life would be somewhat easier or she wouldn't and…well, I don't know what would happen.

I was running the eastern border with Jared when I picked up a new scent. It was headed directly towards the reservation, so we bounded towards it. As we laced in and out of the trees, I began to realize that we were headed towards Quil's house. We split up, planning to ambush the leech. I pushed myself even faster. Even if he didn't want me around, I still cared deeply about him. He'd been one of my only friends for years. Just because we had a falling out didn't mean that I could turn off those built up emotions.

I approached Quil's house at full speed, only to see my first hostile vampire. Why he had come here I had no idea, but I was going to get rid of him. I halted about 25 feet from where he was, waiting for Jared to circle around him. The creature had dreads and darker skin. He looked at me curiously as I slowly stalked closer to him. He wasn't nearly as pale as the Cullens I had seen around town, but his eyes were blood red.

"It looks like I've gotten mahself a little too far into ya land." He said with an odd smirk on his face. He knew he was in trouble. Why was he still calm?

"I got a plan though. You're gonna let me right by you." He laughed. Fat chance of that happening. I was going to kill him.

He jerked his head over to the side and that's when I saw him…Quil. He was staring out the window, looking more miserable than I'd seen him in years. I was sure he couldn't see us through the trees, but that didn't prevent me from being able to lock eyes with him. As soon as I did, my entire world changed.

It was like gravity no longer existed. Hell, none of the world's laws did. Any care that I had for myself or others seemed trivial compared to this. There was only Quil. Making him happy was all that mattered. He was the only reason I had to be on this earth and I wanted nothing more than to be by his side…

"EMBRY!" I heard called out. I shook my head to see Jared blaring by me, the leech no longer in sight. He could have killed me if he wanted to, but I guess he decided that his time would be better spent getting the hell off our land. Sam and Paul had made their way over to our side and I quickly joined Jared as we all sped towards the fleeing vampire.

Unfortunately my distraction had let him get too much of a lead on us. He crossed the border, forcing us to stop in our tracks.

"What the hell Embry! You two had him trapped and you let him run right by you!" Sam roared as we trotted back. I could do nothing but hang my head. I wasn't going to admit what had just happened. I was too distraught over it myself.

"Dammit Sam, lay off" Jared said, nudging me as we walked.

"Why should I? He let a leech get away!" Sam retaliated.

"Do you realize where we were? That was Quil's house. Imagine if your mom or someone you cared about was that close to a vampire and tell me you wouldn't hesitate. I'm aware that I don't know much about him, but even I recognize that Quil & Jake are the only two on this reservation that have been there for Embry." Jared stated firmly. I looked at him with a new sense of respect. I guess I'd never really noticed him, as he was a year above us, but he was observant. He didn't know how accurate he was…

Sam let out a heavy sigh. "Just don't get distracted again…" he trailed off as we neared the reservation and split ways. I nodded solemnly before getting back into the house, narrowly beating mom back in. That's the last thing that I needed to top off this miserable day.

I can't believe that I'd let the leech go. People could die because of my lack of focus. He seemed to know though. I'd heard of their kind having special abilities. Maybe he could read my mind or somehow figure out people I cared about. Both thoughts sent a shiver down my spine. If either of those was right, he'd have no trouble hurting me without even needing to come near me.

Which brings me back to my earlier question. Why can't things ever be easy? There was no denying what had happened. I'd seen it in all three of the others' minds. That _pull_ could only be caused by imprinting. If that was the case, Quil was supposed to be my soul mate. As much as the thought should elate me, one thought completely dominated everything: I'm fucked.

I couldn't have a mate that would someday return the feeling. Quil had already completely denied me. Sure, the imprint hadn't been in place yet, but I already knew what was going to happen. He wanted nothing to do with me and just because some supernatural leash had tied me to him wasn't going to change that.

I pulled out the last carving I had been working on. I hadn't worked on it since the day of the bonfire and my first phasing. As I shaped it into yet another wolf, I allowed my mind to wander again. Life just kept getting more complicated. What little household stability that I'd had over the years was diminishing quickly. I needed to tell her, sooner rather than later. I guess I could live with this for now, but if she found out I was still sneaking out, it might be time.

Then there was Quil. I guess my feelings for him had been justifiable after all. He was _supposed _to be my other half. The one to complete me. Instead, karma had decided that only I should have the feelings. I felt the anger and sadness at that thought course through me. The sudden emotion caused me to tense up and I felt my carving knife slice through the wood as if it was butter. It didn't stop there and I soon had a large gash across my hand.

"FUCK!" I yelled out, as the pain snapped me from my thoughts. I guess I wasn't used to this new strength. Note to self: Don't mess with knives while distracted.

I watched as the cut suddenly began to heal itself, leaving no evidence of a wound that would have required stitches without the wolf gene. I guess this healing was pretty fast-acting. The only evidence left was the red glint on my blade.

As I stared at the glistening tool, my mind began to really feel weighed down. I couldn't control that my mom hated me. I couldn't control that Quil was disgusted at the revelation that I loved him. I couldn't control that Sam seemed bitter that we might be brothers or for my being a weak link in his pack. I couldn't even control that I had turned into a giant wolf and imprinted on the only person I'd ever been interested in. These were things that were pretty much out of my hands.

The blade however, was not. The quick mistake had made me realize something. Pain that was from outside sources was eating me alive. It dominated my thoughts and was completely taking over my emotions. The slip had been a blessing. I had found something that had taken my mind off of everything else, however briefly.

I slowly lowered the blade back down, dragging it across my arm and watched as the crimson liquid rose to the surface. Pain flooded my mind, canceling all other things out. It forced me to be aware of the present, not stuck in my own head. Even as I hissed at the pain, I relished in the dominant simplicity of the feeling. This pain was basic and without strings attached. I'd found a release and it was something that I _could_ control.

**Quil's POV**

Things were falling apart. I still hadn't spoken to Embry since the bonfire. I felt miserable because of it. I'd actually gone to his house, but he wasn't around. Probably off with Sam's group now. I just really hope that he's happy. They've obviously been more welcoming to him lately than I have.

I haven't spoken to Jake in a couple of days either. One afternoon I was watching him work in the garage, as usual. Throwing in my occasional remarks and trying to engage him in conversation. He just seemed really frustrated. His anger's been getting to him lately, and without having Embry there to act as a buffer for some of my nonsense, he finally snapped at me. I'd been joking that he was never going to finish his Rabbit when the wrench flew by my head. That was enough of a sign that I'd worn out my welcome.

I looked out the window, thinking about all that had happened in the past week. I'd betrayed one of my best friends and pissed off the other. I needed to make things right. I'm sure that Jake and I would be fine at some point, but I needed to find a way to talk to Embry. He had never avoided Jake and I for this long. We'd been his safety net before I went and fucked everything up. This time apart has really made me realize how much I need him in my life. I'm starting to wonder if it would be worth it to just face the world with him by my side. Of course, at this point I'm not sure whether or not he'd even still be interested. I just wish I knew what he was thinking…

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AN: I feel like I should say that I do not suggest the use of self-harm as an escape. I'm not one to judge, as everyone has their own issues and sometimes you have to find your own coping mechanism, but I would recommend avoiding such extremes. There are better distractions out there.

That being said, I'm curious how you felt about this chapter. If you have hostile opinions about it, I'm curious to hear them. If you enjoyed it, I'd love to hear that too. Feedback really does play a major part in my writing process.

Final note: It may be a while before I'm able to update. I'm going to be extremely busy, so it may be a week or two before I'm able to return to this. I won't be abandoning it, but I do have to sort some real life things out. If I get time, I'll try to get some writing in, but there's a solid chance that it'll be a little bit before I can...


	4. The Damage

AN: Sorry that it took so long to get this update up. I've been extremely busy dealing with real life things, so I haven't had the time to write. Finally got enough free time to write up a chapter, so I hope you all enjoy. I truly appreciate all of your reviews and feedback.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Special Note: I would like to take this time to recognize my friends in New Zealand. The world lost a great man this week, as Matt passed away on May 2, 2012. I will truly miss our talks and banters, but I know that he's watching over his family from a better place, free of the pain that he's been in throughout these last few months. I hope that you guys find some peace as time goes by. None of the cliche statements really help in this situation, but I want you to know that you're in a lot of our thoughts. Matt reached out to a lot of people and was a great man. I'm sorry for your loss.

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_"If there is a possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong."_

**Embry's POV**

It didn't take long for my newfound habit to fit into my routine. I'd wait for mom to go to work before slipping out for patrols. We'd run silently, continuing to find traces of the vampire that I'd let escape. Fortunately mom's work schedule was predictable and Sam helped me by working my patrols around it. I knew he wanted me to tell her so that he wouldn't have to cater to that need, but I was afraid. I knew I couldn't put it off forever though.

As I said, my cutting began to be more normal as well. I knew I should feel like shit for resorting to such an escape, but I couldn't help it. I was used to pain, so being able to be the source of it was a nice change. I began to experiment with deeper cuts. I could feel the fact that my energy was being drained from the constant need to heal, and I hadn't had an appetite recently. That probably had something to do with the imprint eliminating my cares about this world.

I couldn't help but to wonder if it was possible to make a cut that wouldn't heal. The thought of death started to rise in my head. My parents didn't want me as a son. My alpha didn't want to deal with me in his pack. My soulmate didn't even want me near him. Would it really be a bad thing if I was gone? Nobody would miss me and maybe it's what I could do to actually make everyone's lives better...

It had been about 2 weeks since I imprinted. I hadn't seen Quil since that day. I was doing what he had wanted me to: not be something he had to deal with. Thus, I pretty much only did patrols and sat in my room. Today was the day that things were going to change, one way or the other. We were running patrols when Sam finally released us for the evening. He was even going to give us a day off. I guess even Protectors needed an occasional rest.

I hopped up into my window, hoping to find some sleep. The pain of the nightmares was only somewhat as bad as regular life. I stopped dead in my tracks as I realized that my room wasn't empty. Mom had gotten home early...

"Decide that my grounding you was a joke?" she asked, glaring at me.

"No...it's just that I had responsibilities to take care of" I sighed.

"Responsibilities? I think it's time you explained!" she yelled.

"All right...let's go in the living room." I mumbled.

She walked out of the room and sat down on the couch, watching me with anger brooding under her eyes.

"I guess I'll get straight to it. You know about the legends that they tell around here, right? About werewolves and vampires?" I asked, wondering if she had ever actually listened to them.

"Yes, those childhood fairy tales. Do you plan to actually get to the point?" she snapped.

"They're not just stories mom. They're true, and I'm a wolf. It's why I asked if Uley was my father. Only a few people could carry the trait." I mumbled.

"You can't expect me to actually believe you." She asked incredulously.

"How about I show you. Let's go out in the woods and I'll prove it." I said. This was the easiest way.

She nodded and we went out back. I went behind a tree and began to strip before focusing on the animal within. He quickly emerged to the surface and I felt myself fall onto my paws. I walked out and approached my mother, who had a stunned look on her face before she darted back towards the house.

I phased back and ran in after her. "Mom!" I yelled as she quickly emerged out of her room with a frantic look on her face.

"I'm sorry, Embry. You tell me there's vampires and that you're a wolf guarding this place?" she asked.

She's sorry? That's gotta be a good thing, right? I mean, maybe she'd unground me. "Yes, that about sums it up." I said, hopeful that it meant that she'd finally understand.

"I'm sorry, but I can't deal with this. I've been contemplating leaving to Seattle for a job, and this just seals it. I can't live in a place surrounded by vampires while housing a beast in my own home."

"What? You're just going to leave!" I yelled. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I had a knack for people not wanting to be near me.

"I don't want this in life. You're part of a group, right? Have one of them take you in. This place was pre-furnished, so I don't have to worry about dealing with movers." She rambled off as she threw things in boxes. I stood their shocked as she quickly placed her clothes, belongings, and everything else into the back of her SUV.

"I'll be contacting the landlord to know we're not continuing our time here. I'm sorry, but I can't have a…a freak under my roof. Goodbye Embry." She said firmly, without any sign of emotion as she stepped into the vehicle and drove away.

I was in turmoil. My home was gone. I silently walked into what had been my house for most of my life. What was I going to do? Move on, I guess. Not like I had much of a choice.

I had a couple of plastic tubs that I used to throw what little I had in. That really consisted exclusively of my clothes, carvings, and a few other odds & ends that I had accumulated. I finished by taking off the sheets and pillows from my bed. It didn't take much to stow my life into something I could carry. Guess not having much did have its advantage every once in a while…

I took the bins outside and thought about where I would go. The answer was pretty easy to figure out. Long ago, Quil, Jake, and I had found this really cool cave in the woods. There was a small river near it that ran to the beach and the shelter would be enough to protect me from the elements. I locked the door to my house one last time before making my way slowly through the woods.

It took me about 20 minutes to get to the cave. It was quite out of the way, so I didn't have to worry about being found. I thought about what my mother had said. I couldn't ask to live with one of the pack. Sure, Sam would probably do it because he's the Alpha, but I'd rather be out here than do that. I was already the weak link and probably his unwanted brother. I was not gonna be a charity case.

I quickly set all of my things inside the cave and began to walk down to the river. Cupping my hands, I took a gulp of the fresh water, glad that my wolf genes would fight off any potential diseases in it. After getting cooled down, I made my way back to the cave.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she took it this way. I mean, she had a point. Who'd want to live in a place that historically featured vampires, let alone have to live with a werewolf? It was more than anyone who wasn't raised on the tribe's beliefs to grasp easily. Hopefully she'd be safer in Seattle. As much as I recognized that our relationship was rocky, I never thought she'd just abandon me. Even if she didn't like me, she'd always provided what I needed to survive. Now I had no address, no phone number, or anything else to get in contact with her. I was truly disconnected.

I heard my phone beep. As I pulled it out, it powered itself down because the battery was dead. Maybe I could charge it at Sam's or something. For now, I guess I was just cut off. I looked at my pillows, realizing that nothing would actually make the rock ground comfortable. Then the idea of phasing came into my mind. As I let the heat boil inside, I was suddenly a wolf again. Curling up in a ball, I was able to feel as comfortable as possible on the hard surface as I tried to get some sleep.

That night I dreamt, just as I always do. Doesn't take 3 guesses to figure out who the subject was. I kept replaying the moment at the beach and the pain of feeling Quil storm off away from me.

"What the hell am I? And what are these thoughts I'm seeing?" I heard someone loudly yell, startling me awake. I panicked as I realized that someone had phased and apparently my subconscious thoughts weren't nearly as shielded as my conscious ones were. I shook my head to clear the cobwebs. No more sleeping in wolf form.

Why was someone phased? Everyone should be taking their day off right now. It's not like anyone phased for fun or anything.

"What's your name, wolf?" I asked. I could see through his eyes and caught a glimpse of a russet colored fur as he ran through the trees. New recruit?

"Who are you? And how do you know I'm a wolf? Better yet, why should I answer anything you have to ask?" he ranted. There was an authority behind his presence that made me slightly cower down, similar to when Sam was around. Though from what I'd heard, there was only one other person that was supposed to be capable of carrying the authority of an Alpha. That could only mean one thing…

"Is that you, Jake?" I questioned.

"Yeah, who's asking?" He growled back.

"It's Embry…" I mumbled.

"Oh, Em! Thank God it's you. Is this why you ran off to join Sam and his gang. Is this what you guys are?" He rambled on.

"Yeah. Normally Sam would tell you all of this, but the legends are true. We protect the reservation from vampires." I summarized. He knew most of the legends, so it wasn't too hard to explain what was going on.

"How long since you became one of them? Was it around the bonfire?" he queried. Guess he would notice when I stopped hanging around, but that was only part of the reason.

"Yeah, that night actually." I murmured. It was easier to just keep things simple for now.

"We were wondering what happened. Quil seemed really distressed when he saw you out there with Sam and company." Jake mentioned. Distressed. As much as I wanted it to be because he was worried about me, I knew that it wasn't the truth. He didn't want to be around me and seeing me had reminded him of what I was. Apparently he hadn't told Jake though, which was a relief. Still, I had a feeling Quil would be next, and then everyone would know.

"Speaking of Quil, what were those thoughts that I first saw. Did you two have a fight or something?" he pressed.

Shit. I didn't want to talk about this at all. Fortunately he didn't seem to know exactly what happened, so I felt that I could be vague. I just mentioned that we got into a spat on the beach because of my growing temper and that I'd phased shortly after. He accepted the explanation unquestioningly, remembering back to when he threw a wrench at Quil. Guilt suddenly flooded through him at the memory, but he shook it off.

"So, anything else I need to know about this wolf thing?" Jake asked.

I explained about how most of the pack could see through each other's eyes and communicate freely. Jake admitted that he couldn't see my thoughtsbut got a little fidgety when he realized I could see whatever was on his mind at present. He seemed to be trying to avoid thinking of something, but I wasn't going to push him. I had the unfair advantage of being immune to their prodding. I mentioned imprinting and the temper that explained why the pack stayed away from others. Jake seemed to be taking everything in stride.

I eventually went into how he could phase back and it wasn't long before I felt his mind slip away from mine. He had said something about wanting to meet up sometime soon to hangout again and I told him we'd get together that afternoon. I told him to phase later and we'd meet up because my phone was dead and I didn't have the charger. It wouldn't have been the first time that had happened and it was more or less the truth. I was just missing the charge, not the charger.

I hunted a deer down to make sure that I actually had some energy. My appetite was all but gone, but my wolf still seemed to want to hunt to stay alive. I guess it was the human side of me that had lost hope in things. I'd just have to rely on my wolf for now.

As I walked back to my cave, I felt the crushing loneliness come back. I had gone from lying to my mother to lying to my pack brothers. Oh well, they don't need to be weighed down by my thoughts. Whatever keeps them happy in their own lives is all that matters…

**Quil's POV**

I'd had enough. I hadn't seen anything of Embry in weeks. He was doing a hell of a job avoiding me, but I'd had it. It was the middle of the afternoon, and I'd seen Jared and Paul hanging around town. That meant that Sam's little gang wasn't all gathered. Embry had to be at home.

I went over and knocked on the door. Nobody answered, but I wasn't going to be deterred this time. We needed to talk. I looked under the flower pot and found that the spare key was still there. He'd shown me it years ago, but I never needed it. It was rare that doors in this town were ever locked. Nobody seemed afraid that anyone would rob them. Then again, most of us didn't have too much that would be valuable, other than old heirlooms. Most of them were affiliated to the particularly family, so it'd be obvious where things came from. Ultimately, nobody really had anything to fear.

I opened the door and walked inside of the dark house. The first thing I noticed was how empty it was. None of the usual clutter or anything. I walked to Em's bedroom, only to find it completely cleared out. All of his clothes were out of the closet and there was nothing in the room other than the furniture. I looked in his mom's room to see the same thing. What was going on?

I walked out and headed for the beach. It seemed to be the only place that relaxed me, and I needed that right now. I had been feeling a lot hotter lately and even gotten in a shouting match with my grandfather. His cane had left a nice lump on my head after that one.

As I was walking along, I caught sight of Jake in the distance. He had his back turned to me, but it wasn't hard to figure out that it was him. With him was the person I'd been looking for…Embry. Before I could take off after them, however, a loud howl filled the air and the two took off running into the woods. I tried to chase after them, but found no trace. I cursed as I headed back home, more confused than ever. Jake was hanging out with Embry again, but did that mean he had joined Sam's cult? On top of that, why was Embry's house empty if he was still here? I needed answers, but I was going to have to track him down first. I wasn't going to let him get away again if I could help it…

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Well, that's the latest chapter in FML. Once again, I apologize for the wait, but I hope to at least get back to weekly posts (if not twice a week, but I'm not sure yet). As always, I appreciate any feedback that you have. To be honest, this is probably the least-edited chapter I've written for any of my stories, so I apologize if it's a lot worse.


	5. The Something

AN: Thank you all for your feedback on the last chapter. I truly appreciate your willingness to tell me what you think. Got this one finished a little sooner than I expected. This update...well, it fits with the previous chapters. I think that should serve as warning enough. Hope that you enjoy it, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"_Whenever you set out to do something, something else must be done first"_

**Embry's POV**

Jake and I took off towards the sound of a howl emanating from the forest. Quickly stripping, we phased on the fly and ran towards its source. Thoughts flashed through our minds as we hustled to catch up. Apparently Paul had gotten really angry after getting into it with Leah. He'd taken off through the woods, only to pick up a strong trail. Who knew that his temper would actually pay off?

We were closing in on it now. There was someone else's scent mixed with the leech this time though. He had a human with him. As we broke through to a clearing, we found Sam and Jared charging the bloodsucker that had been evading us. Apparently he'd tracked down a girl who was standing there petrified as we took off after the vampire.

"Isn't that Chief Swan's daughter?" Jared asked as he flanked his prey.

"Yeah, that's Bella. Can't say I'm too surprised. She is dating one of those Cullens after all" Jake replied. He would know best after all. Charlie Swan and his father were best friends. They tried to push the two together, but Jake never showed any interest. Can't say I blamed him. From what I knew of the girl, she was bland and whiny. Definitely not someone I wanted to get involved with.

I watched as Sam finally sunk his teeth into the leech with dreads. His leg went flying off, sending him to the ground as he screamed in agony. Paul and Jared each took a limb as well. As we approached, Jake launched himself at the defenseless creature, ripping his head clear off and finally putting an end to the threat.

"Damn Em, you missed out on all the fun. Guess that'll teach you to be so slow" Paul chuckled, clearly enthralled by the chase.

Those words hurt more than I think he'd intended. He was right, even if he was just making a joke. I hadn't been able to help in any way. Everyone else had at least contributed in some manner and Jake had actually landed the final blow, despite being a brand new wolf. I was absolutely useless in this pack.

We trotted back towards the reservation and I couldn't help but hang my head. Paul was loving the feeling of finally getting some action. Jake was radiating a sense of pride at being so quick to get the hang of this, while Sam was just content that the job had been completed. We could smell the presence of one of the Cullens nearby, but he was on their side of the treaty line. Apparently they weren't a threat, but it didn't mean that I liked the thought of being near them.

I couldn't wait to phase out. Experiencing each of their emotions made me feel even more pathetic. They all had proven themselves in one way or another today. Showed that they deserved to be part of the pack. I just wanted to get away from their gleeful attitudes.

Once we got back to the reservation, we went our separate ways, as everyone wanted to make the most of the day they were supposed to have off. Jake headed home while the others went to visit their imprints. I was jealous of all of them. I had an imprint, but I couldn't go to him for comfort. Jake hadn't made the connection with anyone yet, but he at least had a home to go back to. I was going deeper into the woods. Not much solace there.

As I reached my "home," I phased out and decided to lie down in the stream. The cool water flowed around me, providing much needed relief. Not that I really deserved any such reprieve. Fate had decided that I needed to suffer and I was beginning to understand why.

I had pretty much destroyed my mother's life, forcing her to move here and now she had to pack up and leave everything again because of what I was. She could have been happy and maybe married up in Neah Bay, but I had ended any hope of that. Sam was the Alpha of a great pack. When I first joined, he had to give me special privileges and even then I couldn't do anything to help. I'd let the leech go the first time and not played any part when the rest of them rectified my mistake. I was his weak link and everybody knew it, even if it had only been expressed in a joke. To top it off, I had felt the stress that I had added Sam's life with the possibility of being his brother. He never said anything, but I could feel his unease at the thought. As if he didn't already have enough on his mind. The only person who had escaped was my "father." At least he'd been able to continue on with his life – whatever that consisted of – after I had come into existence. I had once been sad and sometimes angry at the fact that he wanted nothing to do with me, but I think it might have been for the best. He had had it right all along.

I walked back up to the cave, sitting with my back to the wall. I continued to work on a carving that I'd started recently, but I already knew that it would only be a matter of time before I chose another surface to cut. My thoughts continued to plague me. I'd been listening to Sam's mind on the way back. Apparently Quil was showing the signs of being the next to phase. That would mean that my secret would finally be exposed. Just another thing that would bring disgrace to the pack.

I put the piece of wood down, staring at my reflection within the blade. I barely recognized who was looking back at me. Weeks of restless sleep, a severely decreased appetite, and my body's constant fight to keep healing me had left me as a shell. My eyes looked hollow, which is an accurate description of how I felt.

It's a good thing that the others couldn't see into my mind. They didn't have to be exposed to my feelings of rejection and constant replaying of the last time I'd spoken to my imprint. A tear escaped my eye and I watched as it fell onto the blade. I'd contemplated what it would take to no longer feel these emotions. Direct pain had been a distraction, but I couldn't go on like this. It wasn't worth it.

The time was now. The small amount of energy that I'd gained from the deer had been exhausted in chasing the vampire that we – well...the pack – had finally destroyed. The future looked bleak. Quil was going to phase, and at the very least he'd let the others know what I really am. I'd lived in this town long enough to know better than to expect anything less than a harsh reaction to it. Couple that with having to see Quil's mind and how disgusted he was with me…no, I wouldn't do it.

I placed the blade firmly at my wrist. All of my other cuts had been to inflict a simple pain. I was seeking a final release this time. I pushed in with what strength I had, forcing the knife into my skin. As I began to drag it up my arm, I felt the blood rising quickly to the surface. My vision began to blur and I watched as the 8 inch slice remained open, unlike all of the previous marks. As the darkness settled in, I knew that I had accomplished my goal. I had done the world a favor and stopped burdening it with my cursed existence.

**Quil's POV**

As I walked into my room, my frustrations got the best of me again. Seeing Jake with Embry led me to believe that he'd gone to join the cult as well. I understood that I had chased Embry away, but why had Jake abandoned me without another word? As I thought about it, anger coursed through me and I felt my fist go through my wall. I stared at it for a moment as I realized what I'd done in my quick burst of anger. Mom and Gramps were not gonna be happy about that.

As I removed my fist from the drywall, my grandfather walked into my room. Guess there was no hiding it. He glanced between the hole and me before making a simple gesture for me to follow him. We sat down at the table and I hung my head as I prepared for the lecture I was going to receive. I'd always been the calm, respectful one and in the past week I'd gotten into it with my elder and lost my cool, lashing out violently. I didn't understand why I was feeling like this.

"I guess I should explain. You've been feeling a lot angrier as of late, haven't you?" he asked calmly. It was as if he had read my mind, and all I could do was nod, not willing to look up at him.

"Well, I guess I'll get right down to it. It's not your fault Quil. You're going through what a number of boys have been experiencing here recently." He began. Oh God…was he really about to try and talk about puberty with me? He was a little late on that one. I felt my cheeks flush as I anticipated what was about to happen.

"I know you're aware of the legends. I've always told them to you because I had a feeling that you'd need to know them someday." He continued. And so he begins…wait, what? I looked up at him confused.

"The stories about our tribe aren't just legends. All the talks about wolves and vampires are actually true." He concluded. I knew my grandfather was deeply ingrained in the tribe's history, but was he really delusional?

"What are you talking about?" I asked, still not really grasping what he was saying.

"You've been showing the signs. The anger, the muscle development, and the heat are all visible symptoms that you're close to joining the pack." He explained.

"There's a pack? I feel like we'd know if there was a bunch of guys running around turning into wolves. No offense Gramps, but you can't expect me to believe this." I responded.

"You just don't know what you're looking for, son. I believe I've heard you refer to them as the…what was it, hall monitors on steroids? Not that far off, even if you were being disrespectful to them and their important duties." he chuckled.

Wait…Sam and his bunch of followers? My grandfather had never been one to flat out lie to me. Maybe this was more real than I had thought.

We sat there and talked about it for a while. He described my recent feelings pretty well. I had been constantly starving, easily angered, and had really filled out in the past couple of weeks. I'd thought it was because I was trying to deal with how Embry was avoiding me, but this also explained Jake's temper and recent joining up with Embry. They were both part of the pack.

I was both elated and devastated by the thought of Embry. He had been going through these changes and I'd been so cruel to him. I needed to apologize and come clean of my feelings. I needed him to know, even if he didn't forgive me for how I'd acted. I wouldn't blame him if he didn't…

I sat around the house, mulling over the information that I'd been presented. I was going to be a wolf. I might get my friends back, and if I was in a pack with Embry, I'd at least get a chance to talk to him, even if he told me to screw off. The thought of him doing that hurt, but I knew that he'd be within his right to do it after how I'd acted.

As the time passed, I began to feel uneasy. I couldn't put words to it, but I just knew that something was wrong. I felt what was almost a literal pull into the woods and somehow was sure that I shouldn't ignore it. I took off running, exploding into the creature that I had been told was living inside me. I didn't take the time to look at my body as I pushed myself towards an unknown destination. My wolf seemed to have a conscience of its own, guiding me to wherever I needed to be.

Suddenly the sound of water trickling filled my ears. A small stream appeared in front of me, as well as what looked to be a large cave. My wolf was begging me to go in, so I cautiously approached the entrance.

My nostrils were filled with the scent of blood. There was something dead or badly injured in this cave. Was I being driven to hunt? That thought creeped me out.

Suddenly I saw him. He was hunched over against the wall, blood covering the left side of his body. I ran to him, transforming back to human without thinking. There was a blade sitting beside him, shining with what I could easily guess was Embry's blood. I noticed some boxes of his stuff sitting nearby. Running over to them, I pulled out one of his shirts and quickly wrapped it around the bleeding wound. He still had a heartbeat, but it was extremely faint. I couldn't believe the scene that I was witnessing.

I picked Em up, running quickly back to my house. I had never moved so fast and broke through the trees within a handful of minutes. Rushing into the house, my mother gasped at my sudden appearance. The fact that I was naked meant nothing to me right now. Embry needed help. My grandfather rounded the corner and quickly assessed the situation.

"Put him down on your bed. I'm calling Sue." He said firmly. I didn't hesitate to trust his words and I sat there with him, slowly beginning to understand just how much of a piece of shit that I was. I had caused this…

5 minutes later, Sue barged in the room, carrying several bags of medical supplies, including what looked like blood. As she began to work, I felt tears beginning to fill my eyes. My mother quickly pulled me from the room as Sue and my grandfather tended to Embry.

I spent an hour curled up on the couch, my mother running her hand through my hair to comfort me. She knew that Em was my best friend and she had seen what state I'd found him in. She may not have understood my full feelings, but she did know that this was devastating to me.

Suddenly I looked up as I heard the sound of footsteps from the bedroom. My grandfather and Sue were standing there, tired looks on their faces. I couldn't read their faces at all.

"Well?" I asked, forcing the lump from my throat. One way or the other, I needed to know. I couldn't tell them this, but I wasn't sure if I could live with myself if I lost him like this…

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I couldn't resist leaving it there. Plus, it gives me time to think about what to do with the next chapter. I think it was an ideal stopping point because I enjoy cliffhangers, but I digress. I hope you enjoyed it. I know that it was dark in nature, but that's how this chapter flowed. I appreciate any feedback that you're willing to give! Hopefully I'll get the next chapter started soon...


	6. The Light

AN: Thank you everyone for your reviews. Your feedback really means a lot to me. I'd like to take the time to specifically thank TurnItUp03. His ideas and advice have shaped where I'm planning to go with the next bit of this story. Hopefully I'll be able to express your concepts adequately and I hope you don't find it to be too poorly written. All right, let's do this.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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_"The light at the end of the tunnel is the headlamp of an oncoming train."_

**Quil's POV (switching it up a little bit)**

"We're honestly not sure how he's going to be" Sue finally said. That didn't ease my worry at all.

"He's relatively stable from what we can tell, but he's not healing. I've heard of this in the records." My grandfather began explaining. "It's as if he doesn't want to heal. Obviously his body is weak, but something has taken its toll on his will to go on. Once a wolf is that far gone, things that could kill humans are enough to finish the job." He finished.

"Embry…" I mumbled, shaking my head. I couldn't focus on anything else. This was all my fault. Had I not driven him away, maybe he wouldn't have been in this situation…

I called Sam, knowing that he needed to hear about this. My grandfather had explained that he was the leader of the pack that I belonged to, so it made perfect sense to keep him updated. I informed him that I had phased and alerted him that Embry was hurt – without going into the specifics. He acknowledged the situation and said that he'd take care of things like informing his mom. It didn't even register to mention that I'd found his house cleared out.

I immediately went to Embry. I needed to be close to him. I sat in the room with him, praying that he'd come back to me. I couldn't believe it. If what my grandfather had said was right, Embry truly had tried to kill himself. The very thought of it shook me to the core. Had I been the reason for it? Why was he out in the cave and why was his house empty? Right now none of these things seemed to join together into coherent ideas. I was too distraught to make sense of it all.

That afternoon some of those questions were answered. Sam stopped by to see if there was any progress. Sadly there hadn't been. His heart rate was still weak and his arm still had a deep gash going along it. We checked every few hours, but there didn't seem to be any improvement. Sam explained what he'd found out.

"Apparently his mom's gone. I talked to the elders and they figured out that she had ended her lease on the place and no one's heard from her since. I'm guessing she up and left after he explained about being a wolf, but I can't be sure. He's been living out in the woods for some amount of time, but we really don't know much about it…" Sam trailed off. I had heard that they couldn't see into his thoughts like was possible with the rest of the pack. For that I was grateful. Em was a private person. He wouldn't want anyone in his mind like that.

All of this began to weigh down on me. I had abandoned my best friend as he was going through a ridiculously difficult part of his life. Not only had I left him to fend for himself, but his mother had just cut ties with him as well. As much as I wanted to hate her, I knew that I was no better. Still, I needed to show Em that I was going to be there for him.

Sam continued to explain things about the pack. I learned about the communication we could share. I learned about imprinting. That one had me wondering. Was it possible that I'd felt a pull to Em for a reason? I kinda hoped it was true. If I was able to imprint on him, maybe I could truly show him that I never wanted to hurt him again. Of course, I didn't know if it was actually feasible for a male to imprint on another, but I had hope. If there was one person I could envision being bound to for my life, it was him. Even if it didn't happen, I wanted to show him that I was going to be in his life as much as he'd let me.

"How did you find him, anyway? What triggered your first phase and sent you running into the forest like that?" Sam asked as he was headed out.

"I don't honestly know. I could feel something was wrong and was being guided by a force that I couldn't really control." I said, still not sure exactly what had happened. I had just been caught up in it and known it was the right thing to do. Satisfied with my answer, Sam left after looking deep in thought for a moment. I was curious what he had on his mind, but let him leave without asking. I wanted to turn my attention back to Embry.

Three days passed without any advancement. Em still hadn't moved at all and everyone was beginning to worry. Jake stopped by regularly and the others at least made the occasional appearance. Sue had set up an IV to make sure that he was still getting some kind of nourishment. I hadn't left his side for more than a few minutes at a time, mainly to shower or go to the bathroom. My mom continued to bring food up to the room, but I didn't have much of an appetite. I'd heard that wolves were supposed to be constantly hungry, but nothing seemed appetizing as I saw my best friend lying there motionless.

That afternoon I had my head rested on the bed as I took a quick doze beside him. I hadn't been able to sleep much in the chair that I'd been in, but I didn't care about that. I suddenly realized that there was a slight movement on the bed. I looked up to see Em beginning to stir. He opened his eyes and I stared into them as a shocked and scared look overtook his senses.

He tried to scramble up, suddenly panicking at the needle in his arm. I reached down to try and calm him down and remove the needle, only to have him flinch back as I got there.

"Don't touch me!" he cried out. I halted, stunned that he could think I was going to hurt him. I didn't deserve to have any of his trust. He ripped the needles out of his arm and tried to jump out of the bed, but he was far too weak to stand. As he fell to the ground, I rushed over to him, catching his head before it crashed into the floor.

"Are you really here?" he whimpered through tears that had begun to fall.

"Yes, Em. I'm here and sorry doesn't even begin to cover how I feel right now…" I mumbled, picking him up and setting him back on the bed. He groaned as my arm grazed his heavily bandaged cut and I immediately jerked back.

We stared at each other for a few minutes in the silence. I could see the pain and fear underlying behind his eyes. There was also something hollow about them. It was like a piece of him was missing and it made me restless. I couldn't understand or explain it, but something was wrong. I needed to figure out what it was and help him fix it. I could only hope that he'd let me be there for him. I knew that I just needed to wait for him to open up to me. If I pushed him, he'd just withdraw from me, and I couldn't let that happen. He needed to let me in willingly, and for that, I needed to regain his trust…

**Embry's POV**

The next few days were odd to say the least. Quil was around me constantly, taking care of whatever I needed. It was nice, but I couldn't understand where he was coming from.

One question continued to dominate the rest: Did he imprint on me? I mean, he was acting as if he needed to do things for me, but considering our last interaction, I couldn't grasp that possibility. I couldn't bring myself to ask him though. Part of me hoped he had and that this pain would stop. However, is that really fair of me? He'd already expressed that he didn't want me like I wanted him. It wouldn't be right for fate to force him into something that he didn't want. And if he hadn't, why was he doing this? I didn't want to be a burden on him and his family. That's part of why I'd gone out into the woods in the first place. I was not going to be a charity case…

"Why are you doing this?" I asked after the third day. I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to know.

"I…well, when I found you in the woods, it was worse than I could ever imagine. I need my best friend back and I need to see you well again Em. It's my fault that you were out there and that you didn't feel like you could come to me for help. I…I need to make it up to you." He said quietly.

I could see it in his eyes. Pity. A sense of obligation. Although he was partially right, I didn't want to tie him down like this.

"Don't waste your time. You don't need to watch over me like this. Go and live. You have nothing to feel guilty for" I mumbled, making my way out of the bed and towards the door, only to be stopped as he grabbed my good arm.

"No Em…that didn't come out right. I don't just _need_ to be here, but I _want_ to help you. Em…I've been a coward. I don't hate you. I only hate myself right now. I care about you, but I've been too afraid of that to admit it to you…" he trailed off. He cared about me? I felt a small spark of hope at that revelation as he led me back to his bed.

"Listen Em…I've felt awful since the beach. I tried to track you down, but your house was empty. What happened?" he asked. I guess he needed to know, but I still wasn't really comfortable with what had happened.

"She left…I told her about what I was and she bolted. I packed my things and went to live out there. I…I didn't want to be a burden to anyone…" I whispered, tears beginning to build in my eyes.

In a flash, Quil was on the bed beside me, pulling my body into his. I had never felt more safe than right now, in his arms. The tears began to flow as I buried my face into Quil's neck. I don't know how long we were like that, but I was aware of everything. His hand running through my hair while the other ran down my back soothed me. Considering the past few weeks of hell, this was more than I could ever hope for.

"Will you ever forgive me, Em?" He asked as he continued to hold me close.

"You have nothing to apologize for Quil. I wouldn't risk being seen with me either" I mumbled into his neck, causing him to tense and pull away slightly.

"Em…you're wrong. I'm a coward and you deserve better than that. You're worth so much more than you give yourself credit for. You're worth everything to me, and I'm going to do whatever it takes to prove that to you." He said. I stared into his eyes, noticing the concern and determination in them. I nodded as he pulled me against him.

After a few days, Quil was required out on patrols. I felt useless, sitting in the bed. For some reason, my healing still hadn't kicked in. It was frustrating, knowing that there might be leeches out there. I needed to be there for the pack.

One afternoon while Quil was out, I heard a howl. They had found something. Even with one weakened leg, I knew I needed to go out there and help. I hopped out of the bed and jumped out the window, darting for the woods. I stripped my clothes, preparing to phase. I tried to focus on the wolf, allowing his heat to consume me as it had so many times before. I reopened my eyes in shock. I couldn't feel anything. It was like I couldn't call my wolf to the surface. I frantically tried again, visualizing the creature I normally turned into, but it was to no avail. I couldn't phase.

That realization frightened me. I slid my cutoffs back on, trudging back into Quil's room. He'd insisted that I stay there and I wasn't going to argue with him. I was far too happy not having to be away from him right now. He promised that I wasn't a burden, and even if a part of me didn't believe it, I couldn't bring myself to leave his presence.

What am I going to do? Why could I not phase? This injury shouldn't be able to prevent the change and I had eaten enough recently to have the energy. I was scared that maybe I had lost the ability, but I still didn't understand.

Quil came back a couple of hours later. Apparently they'd found a small coven that was trespassing across our land. They had been chasing the leeches until they heard a shout from across the Cullen border. Apparently they were vegetarian friends of theirs. Wouldn't have been a bad idea to provide a warning, but they had prevented the pack from ripping the vamps to shreds.

Apparently the Cullens had decided to go ahead and turn the Swan girl into a vampire and wanted to have some extra support there in case anything went wrong. Sam had agreed to allow this one instance to pass, as she was doing it willingly. Nobody seemed to really care, but if she attacked a person, we were going to be ready to destroy her.

That night I dreamed. It wasn't like the dreams when I remembered Quil's words on the beach. This was new, but just as powerful as any memory. I was running through the forest, my blade in my hand. My predatory senses were pushing me forward, giving chase to some creature. I didn't know what I was hunting, but it was close. There was a small river flowing nearby, but my attention was drawn to the nearby cave. It was familiar, but I knew that there was danger inside. I stalked up to it, preparing to attack. I launched myself in, thrusting the knife into the animal who's outline I could barely make out. Whatever wild beast this was could be a threat to our lands and needed to go. I backed off and prepared for another round in case it was still capable of fighting. I heard a whimper and as my eyes adjusted, I realized what I had attacked. It was my wolf.

He was bleeding profusely, a look of pure betrayal in his eyes. I dropped the knife, running towards him and throwing my arms around him. He shook me off, growling as he limped slowly out of the cave, leaving a trail of blood behind him. I ran to follow him, but he had disappeared into the forest. At that, my eyes shot open and my torso quickly shot up in the bed. I was sweating and panting, my heart beat going much faster than usual. Quil was looking at me, panic rising in his system.

"Em? EM! What's wrong!" He yelled, surveying the room for danger.

"I think I killed him!" I cried out.

"Killed who, Em? You haven't killed anyone. It was just a dream." Quil attempted to comfort me.

"No…it's not just a dream. I think I killed or chased him away…" I said trembling.

"Who are you talking about?" He asked, still not able to understand my rambling.

"It's…it's my wolf. He's gone. I can't feel him anymore. I – I – I can't phase…" I said, finally realizing the connection to the dream. The look in Quil's eyes was hard to describe. Pain, fear, and some amount of anger, all burning under the surface.

"We'll get him back, Em…we'll get you well again and you'll be able to join us." He said, pulling me back into him. I could only hope that he'd be right…

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AN: Thank you all for reading another chapter of FML. I hope that you enjoyed Quil finally stepping up to the plate a little bit. Of course it couldn't be smooth sailing though, right? Hope that you found the chapter enjoyable, and I look forward to hearing any feedback that you have!


	7. The Place

AN: Thanks for the reviews everyone. I'm truly grateful for any opinions that you're willing to share. I've wanted to get this written all week, but it's been busy. Gotta love the real world sometimes. Hope that you enjoy this and as always, I appreciate any feedback that you decide to give.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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_"If you're going to find something, it will always be in the last place you look."_**  
**

**Embry's POV**

My healing still didn't kick in and it was decided that I was to be removed from pack activities until I could actually phase again. That made me feel awful, even though I recognized that I couldn't really contribute anymore. Being in the pack had provided the sense of community that I needed, so the fact that Sam didn't think I should bother coming to the meetings anymore hurt. I'd always felt like an outsider, but after a taste of what it was like to be part of something, it was even worse.

To add to my guilt, Quil had been instructed to stay with me and try to get me well again. He refused to let me think of it as him being stuck with me, but I knew that I was holding him back from being able to grow closer with the pack while he was attempting to bring my wolf to the surface. Not to mention that I was keeping a fully capable wolf from contributing to patrols and other responsibilities, hurting the pack. In all reality my actions had weakened the pack by two. Still, he seemed extremely eager to try and get me phasing again. I was grateful to not be alone right now, but I was afraid.

What if I never recovered my wolf? Looking back, I fully understood his feelings of betrayal. I hadn't thought of anyone but myself when I tried to end my life. He had been an important part of me that I'd so willingly tried to cast away. I didn't blame him for leaving…if he was still alive.

The thought that I'd killed him lingered in my mind as well. In my dream, he'd simply disappeared. I know that they were called our spirits, so was it possible that it was his way of being gone forever? I prayed that it wasn't. The idea that I'd successfully destroyed such an important piece of our tribe – and of me – sent shivers down my spine.

There were a lot of things that were supporting the concept that I would never shift again. All of the signs that the shifters carried were fading from me. Obviously my healing hadn't kicked in, but there was more. My body temperature had been slowly decreasing, along with my appetite. I was still a few degrees above normal humans, but I could feel the margin decreasing with time. I got the distinct feeling that if I didn't act soon it'd be too late – if it wasn't already.

My fears drove me to begin trying to recover him as fast as possible. I just didn't know where to start. I could feel a distinct piece missing from me, but how do you find something that's vanished? It's not one of those "where did you have it last" type of things. My wolf could have just left or disappeared without a trace. This wasn't going to be easy, but I really wanted to find him and hopefully regain my connection.

Which is why we're currently in the middle of the forest, trying anything that comes to mind to bring him back. Quil has tried to stay positive, but I can sense that something's bothering him about this. I just can't quite place why he feels so upset about it. Whatever it is, he's still being supportive and I know I need to focus on the problem itself.

We've tried about everything. I sat in meditation for a long while, focusing my mind on the image of the animal that I had been able to become. Afterwards Quil had tried to make me angry, but refused to push that to the extremes it would take to even have chance. His lack of heart in insulting me really prevented his words from having their effect. Hell, Quil had even tried to use some form of hypnosis, which I would have laughed at if we weren't desperate enough to try.

On the third day we actually got permission from Sam to go see Doctor Cullen. He was about the only one you could say specialized in supernatural medicine and even though Quil didn't want to go near the vampires – let alone let me near them when I couldn't phase – we had to see if they could help. After an examination, Carlisle (as he insisted we call him) concluded that I was showing all of the signs of being a regular human, with the exception of my mild fever. I didn't even smell like a wet dog to him, although he phrased it a little more respectfully than that. He'd never heard of this happening and we were still at square one.

As more and more ideas failed, I watched as Quil began to get riled up. This is the fourth day we've been trying anything that came to mind, but absolutely nothing has gotten us any closer. He began by pacing as we pondered ideas, but I could feel the agitation rolling off of him. Suddenly he snapped, throwing his fist into a tree and shattering its bark. He repeated this a couple of times, knocking over a few of the smaller trees that were unfortunate enough to be in his path. I looked at him in shock as he began to shake violently, exploding into his wolf form.

It hit me that it was the first time I'd seen Quil as a wolf. He was a beautiful shade of brown, reminding me almost of chocolate. He looked smooth and I longed to run my hand through his fur. As I gawked at him, I suddenly became fully aware that he was stalking closer to me. The look in his eyes wasn't one of love, tenderness, or care. His hackles were raised, teeth bared, and his eyes were pitch black. Something had filled the wolf with what looked to be pure, unadulterated fury. I could easily figure out that the something was me and as the wolf towered over me, I realized that for the first time I was actually afraid of Quil…

**Quil's POV**

I was completely driven to bring Em's wolf back out. I don't know why, but I was obsessed with the idea. I had talked to Sam and he had pulled me aside after the first pack meeting I'd gone to in order to have a talk.

"So Quil, I think that you might be the only one who can help Em" he began.

"Really? It's not like I have any knowledge on how this stuff works." I replied, wondering what he meant.

"Well, to be honest with you, I think he imprinted on you. Thinking back to the day that a leech we were chasing ran by him and going by the pull you say you felt to find him when you phased, it's the only thing I can come up with. If anyone can help him find his wolf, it'll be you." He stated.

"You…you think he imprinted on me? Why didn't I return it?" I asked, not really understanding how any of this was possible. Imprinting was about passing on the wolf genes, right?

"I'm not sure why you didn't, but I still think you're the only hope. I don't want him trying to fight vampires or feel like he should still be a part of our duties right now. I know he'll want to, but he needs to get better, so I'm asking you to take the time off to help him as well. If it doesn't work out, we can go from there, but I think we should see if you can make progress with him." He'd finished. I accepted and had been with Em nonstop since.

As the days passed, my anger was beginning to rise. I couldn't explain it, but I felt furious at Em's inability to call forth his wolf. By the fourth day, I could no longer contain it and phased without warning. I stalked towards Embry, feeling like a predator in every sense of the word. Em looked at me with fear in his eyes, and as much as I hate to say it, he was right to be afraid. I wasn't in control of my wolf anymore.

For the first time, I felt my wolf as more than just a part of me. It was as if he had a separate conscience, and he was furious.

"He killed him!" the voice yelled.

"Calm down!" I cried out in my mind.

"No, he's killed our mate. I can't sense him in there! He doesn't deserve to walk this earth anymore! I will destroy him!" my wolf growled out.

I think that I finally understood imprinting. I had always known that it was an element that showed us who our soul mates are, but it wasn't just for the human in us. Our mates had to please the wolf as well. My wolf was supposed to be mated with Em's, just as we were soulmates as humans. Em not being able to phase had kept my wolf from seeing his rightful mate and kept me from imprinting. Embry was missing too important of a piece of him for my wolf to accept him as our mate, and this was his punishment for Embry's mistake.

As hard as I tried, I couldn't reason with my wolf. He actually felt justified in ending Embry's life. I watched in horror as my head began to lower down to Em. This couldn't be happening!

Suddenly I felt my body knocked through the air, crashing into some trees. As I stood up, I saw the large body of a black wolf walking towards me. I felt my wolf recede back from the threatening growl that he was giving. Pecking order couldn't be disobeyed and my wolf wasn't about to try and challenge the Alpha.

"That is NOT what I had in mind when I told you to watch over him!" Sam growled at me. I hung my head, not even trying to defend myself. I'd almost killed my best friend...the one who was supposed to be my mate. I deserved to be lectured, attacked, or whatever Sam wanted to do. Surprisingly he let me off relatively easily. I cringed as he replayed the horrific incident where he'd lost control of his wolf with Emily nearby. It hurt me to see (and it killed him to relive it so vividly), but I knew that he was getting his point across.

"Now that you're back in control, be more careful. I don't think all hope is lost, but you can't lash out like that again." He chided before running off. I was still afraid my wolf could resurface, but Sam seemed confident that he'd made his point as Alpha.

I phased back, remaining crouched on the ground and not daring to look at Embry. Even after everything that had just happened, he cautiously approached me. I was surprised that he even did that, but he rested his hand on my shoulder after a few minutes and I finally glanced up at him.

"I'm sorry Em…I completely lost control. There's no excuse…" I choked out, fighting the emotions that were brewing in me.

"What was that? It…it didn't look like you" he replied, sitting down beside me.

"It was my wolf. He…he was angry that he couldn't sense yours. Apparently that's who he was supposed to imprint on." I explained.

"So…your wolf is mad at me for chasing away his mate?" he said solemnly. I nodded, not having anything to try and cover it up with.

We stayed silent for a little while before finally getting up and leaving the forest. Sam had been gracious enough to leave me the pants he'd tied to his leg. Suddenly I heard something stirring nearby and my nose was filled with a scent that I'd never experienced. Plain and simple, the smell wreaked.

"Em, I think we're being followed. I'm gonna phase, but I need you to get on my back as soon as I do. All right?" I questioned, hoping he wouldn't freak out at seeing my wolf again. He simply nodded and I quickly focused, bringing forth my wolf again. I was in control, however, and as soon as I completed the change, I heard my brothers engaged in hunting down a small group of them.

"Get Em out of there Quil! There seems to be a coven that decided to stroll through, but they're not the good kind." Sam commanded.

I slumped down, allowing Em onto my back. As I took off, I saw them. 3 of them, all with gleaming red eyes. I pushed forward, running towards the mountains that weren't too far away. In the open, I might have a shot at protecting Em. I had a stocky build, so fighting a defensive match in the middle of the forest wasn't exactly my best idea.

Trees brushed by me and it took a lot of extra effort to keep Em from getting hit by everything I ran through. I tried to protect him, but I felt him tense every time he got hit by something hard. We finally broke through the clearing when one of the leeches grabbed my leg, causing me to slam into the ground. I watched as Embry flew over me, slamming into one of the rocks that dotted this open patch. I could only imagine that he had broken some things, especially without the help of his wolf to protect him. I watched as he lay there, out cold, and as I tried to make my way towards him, I felt cold hands landing on me. One leech grabbed each side of me and held me as the third approached, a glint in his eye. I struggled to break free of the two vice grips holding me in place, but it was no luck. They were strong creatures.

"I'm going to enjoy this." The one approaching me said, smirking. "A lot of my kind don't like your hot blood. I think it's quite the rush to feel its warmth running through my system" he said, positioning himself at my neck.

The pack was fighting on the other side of the reservation, Em was at the very least unconscious, and I was trapped in the crushing grip of two bloodsuckers. I wasn't exactly the best strategist, but I could recognize that this was not the situation that I wanted to be in. Suddenly I felt the very real possibility that this might be the end...

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Wait, is that two cliffhangers in the span of three chapters? OK, I'll admit it, I kinda enjoy leaving the chapter at a point where anything could happen. It lets me think about what to do with the situation. It also hopefully keeps you interested in what's going to happen next. But there you have it, the latest chapter. I hope to get to work on the next one this weekend, but we'll see if I'm able to. As I said before, I hope you'll take the time to review!


	8. The Second Time

AN: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. I know I say this every time, but I truly do appreciate your feedback. I know that some of you are probably annoyed at my use of a cliffhanger. I just enjoy them so much! Plus it let me decide where to go with this chapter, so I hope you enjoy the end result! And now, we'll go to a cutaway scene that has nothing to do with the situation! No, not really, but that would be kinda funny...

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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_"Whatever you're looking for will actually be in the first place you looked. You just missed it the first time."_

**Quil's POV**

I watched in horror as the creature's head descended towards my neck. I momentarily wondered if it would be smart to phase back, but the vice grip hold from the leeches on either side of me prevented me from going through with it. It would just mean I'd be ripped apart in one quick motion. Instead I tried to struggle, but the leader closed his fist around my windpipe.

"Now, now, none of that. Just be a good little dinner and stop squirming" he chuckled.

All of a sudden, his smirk disappeared and he turned around quickly, only to have his head taken clean off his body. What was left of him collapsed to the ground and over the remains stood a grey wolf. It was smaller than me, but was obviously fast. I'd never seen this wolf before, but I was grateful for its appearance.

Suddenly the vampire to my right was knocked off of me, tackled by a blur that looked to be a sand-colored wolf. The grey one helped it rip the leech apart, and in the confusion, I was able to reach around and quickly destroy the remaining bloodsucker on my left. I could hear through the link that my brothers had taken care of the other group that had emerged, but none of us recognized the pair of wolves in front of us.

"Thanks for the help, but who are you guys?" I asked, not feeling anything from them. Were they even pack? Could they understand me?

Slowly I felt their consciences rise through, overcoming their wolves' dominance of the situation. They were pack alright, and it was suddenly obvious who the pair was. As images and thoughts flooded out of them, we recognized them quickly: the Clearwaters.

"Seth!" I heard Jake exclaim, just as Paul called out to Leah. The two newcomers collapsed to the ground, finally being overcome with the draining feeling of the transformation. We also got an inside look at what had happened.

Apparently Harry had had a heart attack. Despite attempts to restart it, he hadn't made it. Upon hearing the news, Leah had phased as she ran out the door. Seth had seen her and the dual revelations of his loss and seeing Leah phase had triggered the gene to prematurely activate in him. He hadn't gotten out of the house, however, and we saw as he scampered towards the nearest door, breaking everything in his path to escaping the house. If it wasn't for the tragedy of knowing that they'd just lost a family member, I'd have been tempted to joke about the mess. Not even I was that callous though and I felt bad for the pair. I only barely remembered finding out about my father's passing, but I knew this was hard for them.

It wasn't long before Paul broke through the trees, quickly making his way to Leah and wrapping around her sulking figure. This wasn't too much of a shock, and I guess he'd just been saved the trouble of explaining about the wolves. What nobody expected was the russet-colored wolf to burst through just after Paul. He was immediately beside Seth, trying to provide as much comfort as he could to the depressed pup. I'd heard that Jake had been acting odd for a while, blocking his thoughts whenever possible. Nobody had been able to see anything that he didn't want them to, which was apparently rare for such a new pack member. I hadn't really been around very much since I'd first phased. In all reality, this was the first time that I'd been phased with all of the others, with the exception of that brief loss of control earlier today. I've been by Embry's side since I found him in the cave, so it was weird to hear everyone's thoughts. I didn't have the control that Jake did, however, and they all had become immediately aware of the fact that I loved Embry. Not that I cared, but I knew that Em might want to keep things private. Oh well, nothing could be done about it now.

I watched in amazement as both of the Clearwaters looked up at the wolves beside them and could feel the change in their demeanors immediately. The feeling of watching them both imprint simultaneously was completely overwhelming. We all stood in awe as the double imprints were sealed. The emotion flowing between the two couples was something that no one had experienced like this. Still, even though they were feeling the pull, we could still sense the sadness in the siblings over the loss of their father. I felt bad for them, but I had to admit that I was a bit jealous of their imprinting. I wanted to imprint on Embry; to show him how much I really cared for him.

Even if by some crazy circumstance I didn't imprint on him, I wanted his wolf back. If he could phase, at least I could let him see and feel how much I cared for him. How even without the imprint, I wanted to make him happy and protect him. If I was better with words, maybe I could convey that, but I'm not very elegant. I just wanted my Embry back.

That's when I was pulled from my thoughts by remembering what had happened to start this all. I ran over to Embry, phasing back as I got to his side. Embry was unconscious, but his heart was still beating. There was blood running from a gash in his head and as I lifted up his shirt slightly, I could see the quick bruising that indicated that he likely had some broken ribs. He was hurt and even if he had our healing, I'd have still been worried. Considering that he was basically a human now, I was terrified.

Sam burst through the woods and phased back beside me. I looked over at my Alpha and saw that his face showed an uncharacteristic amount of fear. I'd never actually seen him show that before and it did nothing to help me.

"Let's pick him up, gently. I've already sent Jared to the Cullens. They'll be ready for him when we get there." He stated. I don't know why the neighboring vampires were so friendly to us, but I wouldn't complain. I trusted Dr. Cullen more than any other doctor in the region, even if his kind was supposed to be our enemy.

We carried Embry quietly through the woods. It was a miracle that we'd been near the border to the Cullens' house, so the trip wasn't nearly as long as it could have been. Still, every grimace that Embry made caused me to cringe. He might not be conscious, but by the looks of it he was still feeling a lot of pain.

We reached the house and found Jared and the doctor waiting for us. Carlisle took one look and quickly had us lay Embry down on what looked like a hospital bed in one of the side rooms of the house. The place had all of the equipment of a hospital and I at least knew that we'd brought him to the right place. With Sam and a couple of the Cullens inside, they pushed me out of the room and closed the door behind them. Sam felt that I would be at risk to phase if I was in there, and I hated the fact that he was right. My emotions were completely unstable and watching them work on Em would have probably set me off. I was told to sit and wait for them to get back to me. This was all too familiar. I just hoped that he'd power through once again.

I sat in the living room for what felt like an eternity. It was probably only an hour or two, but every minute seemed to take forever to pass. Jared had briefly attempted to keep my mind off of it, but he quickly picked up that I wasn't in the mood to talk. I spent most of the time lost in my thoughts, not sure what I would do if things turned out badly.

Finally, I jumped up as Sam and Carlisle walked out of the room, both covered in blood. I looked between them anxiously as I waited for one of them to give me the verdict.

"It took a lot of work to repair some of the internal damage, but we think he's going to be alright" Carlisle said.

I felt all of my breath rush out of me in a sigh of relief. Still, I needed to be in there with him. I looked pleadingly at Sam and his nod was enough to send me dashing into the next room. Inside, Embry was lying on a different bed with a light blanket covering him. His torso and head were heavily bandaged, clear indicators of how much damage had been done. I sat down in the chair beside him, taking his hand in mine.

"Come back to me Em. Please come back to me" I whispered. Just like last time, I knew I wouldn't be able to leave his side for long until he woke up. I just hoped it was soon…

**Embry's POV**

I took in my surroundings. I was fully aware of where I was. It was the same world that I'd been in barely a week before. It was my wolf's world.

I began my search immediately. I knew that I needed to find him. This was probably going to be my last chance. I didn't know what state he'd be in or what kind of welcome I'd receive, but I had to try and get him back.

I felt that there was only one place that he would be. As I approached the cave where I'd last seen him, I sensed his presence within it. I sprinted inside and sure enough, he was there. I ran to his side, throwing my arms around him again. He whimpered in pain at my embrace and I realized that he was badly wounded.

Running to the river, I took my shirt off and soaked it in the water. I began to try and clean his wounds, returning to the water to rinse out the blood that kept filling my shirt. After over an hour, I had most of his large wound cleaned up, but the gash were still there. I looked through the cave, but the only thing that I found was the tool that caused the wound in the beginning.

I'd have preferred medical supplies, but I'd have to make do. I stripped off my cutoffs, not caring that it left me nude. This was my wolf's plane of existence, what did it matter? I sliced the denim, creating a long strip to wrap around his body. It took some maneuvering, but I eventually had it wrapped around him, my shirt placed at the large injury that I'd inflicted on him. It was enough to provide pressure and I had to hope that it would help. He looked weak and I knew that he couldn't hunt. When he'd last eaten was beyond me and he needed energy to heal himself.

I headed out of the cave, following my senses. I still felt like a predator in this world and I was going to use that to my advantage. Sure enough, my instinct led me to a deer that I was quickly able to overpower. Dragging it back to the cave, I placed it in front of the injured wolf. He looked at me guardedly as I nudged him.

"You need to eat. Please…" I murmured, running my hand over his head. He turned and grasped my bad arm in his mouth, a sad look in his eyes as he squeezed his jaw slightly.

"I know. I know what I did betrayed you too. I'm so sorry for hurting you. I understand if you don't trust me, but please accept my help to get you well again. Even if you won't stay with me, I don't want you to suffer…" I said quietly. Of course I'd love for him to take me back, but he had to recover to ever have a shot at that and no matter what, I still felt guilty for harming him so willingly. I needed him to get better, even if he would never trust me again.

He released my arm, turning his head to the meal I'd brought him. I pushed it closer to him as he opened his mouth and began to devour the creature. Sure, the move was purely an animalistic will to survive, but it was a start at least.

After that, I ferried water back and forth to help him wash down the carcass. My hands weren't the most efficient way to bring large quantities of refreshment, but it was all I had. He lapped it out of my hands each time I returned. Eventually he turned his head away and attempted to get some sleep. I was tired, but I needed to make sure nothing attacked us. Staying up to watch over him was well worth it.

This went on for a few days. The wolf seemed to be regaining some of his energy. By the third day he even limped to the river himself. I still hunted for him, but he was making a lot of progress. I didn't know if he was going to forgive me, but at least he looked like he'd be all right.

As time passed, I began to talk to him. His ears perked up when I mentioned Quil, so I told him about our time together, hoping that we'd be able to find him. I even talked about how Quil's wolf had wanted to punish me for hurting his mate and how I didn't blame him for his anger. The wolf seemed to be taking in everything, but I had no clue what he thought of it all.

On the fifth day, I was woken up by a nudge from his snout. It was the first sleep that I'd had since arriving here. As I looked up, I could feel elements of the world beginning to slip away and knew that I was about to depart back to my realm. I looked at my wolf sorrowfully.

"Are you going to be OK?" I asked him. He nodded slowly.

"I know I don't deserve it, but I hope you'll forgive me. I'll understand if you move on though" I murmured, running my hand over his ear.

He licked my face and for the first time since I'd betrayed him, I felt his presence inside me. It was extremely weak right now, but it gave me hope that maybe we'd be able to be one again. The world disappeared from around me and I was suddenly awake, slowly looking around the room that I was in. I didn't recognize it, but the windows reminded me of the Cullens' house.

I saw Quil sitting beside me, sleeping with his head on my hand. I watched him resting, glad that he was at my side. After a while, he slowly lifted his head before jumping at the realization that I was looking at him.

"Em! You're awake!" he exclaimed.

"Hey to you too, Quil." I chuckled, stopping immediately as I felt the throbbing in my ribcage. I vaguely remembered getting thrown into a rock after being chased through the woods by a couple of leeches, but not much else.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

I was about to answer when I felt an odd tingling in my arm and looked over to see that the wound that I'd inflicted was beginning to seal itself. It wasn't nearly as quick as it had been back before all of this, but I think it was my wolf's way of showing that he was there. I knew it was too soon to try and phase, but this was better than nothing.

"I've got a feeling that everything's going to be alright" I said, a slow smile forming. It might take some time, but I had my first real hope that my wolf and I were going to be back to how we were, if not even better. Maybe then I could finally be the mate that Quil needed…

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Well then, there you have it! Quil got saved (even if it was from an unexpected source), there were more imprints, and the dream world struck again! What did you think? As always, I encourage you to leave your feedback, positive or otherwise. It seems that the weekends are the only time I get to write, so it probably won't be until then that I get another chapter started.


	9. The Enemies

AN: Thank you all for your wonderful reviews, as always. I've really enjoyed writing this alternate realm, and you all have responded in a very supportive way. Thoughtful comments are incredibly useful for helping me develop and shape things, so I can't thank you enough. Now, we all saw some positive thoughts coming from Embry at the end of the chapter. Was that the turning point in the fight against Murphy's Law? Only time will tell hehe.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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_"Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate"_

**Embry's POV**

I stayed at the Cullens for a few days after waking up. It was while I was there that I quickly regretted ever thinking positively. You'd think I would have learned by now that things don't magically get better because one problem is solved. There's always more ready to take its place.

You see, one of the Cullens has the ability to see flashes of the future. Apparently they change as decisions are made, but that's not really the important part of the situation. The important part is that she saw a leech making an army and was intending to march towards us. I'd heard Quil talking about the redheaded one that was leading the charge. She had been mated to some guy the Cullens had killed and was friends with the bloodsucker that I had let escape. At least the pack had taken care of him later…

Anyway, she was coming to try and wreak havoc on the region. She was still furious at the Cullens for killing her mate after he'd attempted to track down Bella as his prey. They'd been afraid enough to go ahead and change Bella into one of them in order to prevent her from being the easy target. She was also not happy at us for killing the one that I've heard referred to as Laurent. They'd basically been a small coven, traveling the world together, and we'd ruined that existence. Long story short, she's been creating a newborn army in Seattle and was coming our way. Lovely.

Sam had agreed that the pack would train with the Cullens to examine the best ways to kill newborns, who apparently were a lot stronger & faster than regular vampires. Fortunately they lacked the intelligence that comes with years of experience. I was surprised at his willingness to work with the ones that we had a treaty with, but he did have the tribe and his imprint to think of. Allies are allies, no matter the species.

Quil didn't want to leave my side, but knew he needed to be at the field that they had designated for their sparring. We settled on me going and observing, even if we all knew that I wouldn't be able to fight. Quil phased and for the first time I actually got to marvel at the beauty of his wolf form. The chocolate brown looked stunning and as I ran my hand through his fur, I was amazed by how soft it was. He was amazing.

I was knocked from my musings by a slight nudge as he lowered himself so that I could climb on his back. This was the first time I'd left the Cullens' since the fight and the clean air was refreshing. Quil knew to keep his pace slow and trotted through the trees, preventing me from getting hit by them all. This was much nicer than being chased by a couple of leeches, even if what waited on the other end wasn't exactly a vacation.

We arrived in the clearing at about the same time as the rest of the pack. I couldn't hear any of them, but I understood as Quil set me down behind them and pushed me down softly with his snout. He may have trusted the Cullens to a certain extent, but he still didn't want me exposed to them during this fighting, even if it wasn't real.

I listened as the one they referred to as Jasper began talking about strategies. After explaining their strengths, weaknesses, and things to watch for, he began sparring with his family. It was lightening fast and I could only see the occasional blur. The pack seemed to be able to track every move and I was reminded of what I had lost, at least temporarily.

Over the past few days, the signs have been picking up that my wolf is getting stronger. It's almost like phasing for the first time all over again. My body temperature has been rising, but isn't quite up to what it was. My healing has picked up as well. Dr. Cullen was quite pleased that my internal injuries were mostly recovered and my leg had at least mended to a certain extent. I was sore everywhere, but it would have been so much worse if I had been a normal human.

After a while of watching, the pack joined in, fighting with the Cullens as well. I hated watching Quil step up to go against the brute of the group, a muscular vampire named Emmett. They were both strong fighters, but it took Sam blocking my path to keep me from interfering when the bear-sized vampire wrapped his arms around my imprint. Of course he didn't finish the maneuver, but we were all aware of what could have been and I could feel my wolf stirring underneath the surface. If this continued, maybe I'd be back to phasing before expected, I thought. Still, even as angry as he was at my imprint being attacked, we were both too weak to do anything about it. Hopefully that wouldn't be the case for too long though. Quil limped back over to me and lay down beside me, allowing me to run my hand through his fur. I knew he hated losing, but he was still a relatively new wolf as well.

As the Cullens wrapped it up, Quil leaned down for me to go for another ride. Instead of heading back to the Cullens' house, we were headed back towards the reservation. I was well enough to not need the doctor watching over me anymore, so I wasn't too surprised to see him trying to get away from them as quickly as possible. We arrived at his house and went inside before he called his family together. We had discussed the possibility of my living with him, but I had been somewhat afraid of another rejection. I mean, my parents hadn't wanted me, why should his?

"Mom, Gramps, I need to ask you guys something." Quil started.

"Go ahead son, you know you can talk to us." His mother responded warmly.

"Well, you guys know about what happened with Em. I was wondering if he could stay here with us in the guest room." He said, a slight pleading to his tone.

"Of course he can" Old Quil stated immediately. "We'd be happy to have him here. He's been your best friend for as long as I can remember." He concluded.

"Thank you guys…" I all but whispered before being pulled into a hug by Quil's mom. "You're already like family, hun. You're welcome here as long as you need a place to stay" she said, beaming at me. I didn't really understand their willingness to take a stray in, but I was eternally grateful.

We went up and Quil pointed out my stuff, already lying in the corner. "I kinda had a feeling that they'd not have a problem with it" he said with a little mischief in his voice.

It was nice having a regular bed again. Sure, the Cullens had me resting in one of their nice ones, but I never really felt comfortable there. Here, with Quil so close, I felt a warmth that couldn't be matched. I just wished that I could be in his room. Still, I had a feeling that he didn't want to risk his family's reaction to that news, so I understood completely.

The training went on for a few more days before the one with visions figured out when the redhead would come. Apparently she had been intentionally refusing to decide on a day until it was too soon to prepare adequately. As the small vampire announced, we had 2 days before the army would be here.

As Sam and the Cullens laid out their plans, Quil and I talked. I was going to stay with his family. They knew what was coming and as much as we tried to cherish the days that we had left together, we were afraid. He wanted me to be near others that could empathize, rather than just fretting by myself.

Those that knew of Sam and the others cherished their existence. The pack had been my first true feeling of community. Despite attacking Jared, we'd been pretty good and on the whole, it'd been a nice experience, even if I'd felt useless as a contributing member. The possibility of one of them not coming back hurt to even think about.

The night before the battle Quil came into my room around midnight. Considering what the next day could mean, it wasn't too surprising that we were anxious. He laid down on the bed beside me, pulling me close. It felt natural to snuggle into him and he sighed as I did it. There was no better place to be.

We talked throughout the night. A lot about what we wanted to do if everything turned out ok. We didn't know how long we'd be needed as wolves, but we both kinda liked the idea of it. We had never run patrols together, but we agreed that the freedom that accompanied being a wolf was unlike anything else. We just needed to get through this latest challenge first, however.

As the sun rose, I followed Quil as he headed into the forest. He was about to strip and phase when he turned and walked to me.

"Em…If anything happens to me…I need you to know that…I love you. I've always loved you, Em." He said, placing his palm on my chest.

"I love you too, Quil. I did mean it when I told you on the beach." I whispered back.

At that, he pulled me closer, smashing our lips together in a passionate, fiery kiss. Our tongues explored each others' mouth until we broke away at the sound of a howl, both breathing heavily and looking flushed.

He turned and phased into his beautiful wolf, preparing to join up with the pack.

"You better come back to me, Quil. I'll be waiting for you _when_ you do" I said softly, running my hand through his fur one more time. With a simple nudge from his snout, he was off to war. All I could do was wait.

After watching Quil disappear into the forest, I went back to his house. After an hour or so, his mother came down and made breakfast. My appetite had been increasing over the past few days, but it was nowhere to be found today. We tried to make small talk, but we were just avoiding the main tension. She tried busying herself by cleaning house, but we both knew there wasn't anything that could really distract us. We'd be nervous until Quil came back, hopefully with news of a complete success. Anything less would be heartbreaking.

As the hours passed, our anxiety grew. I hadn't felt anything, which made me hopeful that Quil was still fine. I had to believe that I'd know if my imprint got hurt. Suddenly I caught a scent in the air. It smelled familiar, but my nose wasn't nearly as powerful as it had been. I walked out to the porch to investigate, hoping to see the pack coming through the trees at any moment. As I stepped out, a hand covered my mouth. It took me a moment to register the fact that there was a cloth in it, and by then it was too late. My vision began to fade into the darkness and I felt myself being picked up as I fell into a drug-induced sleep.

**Quil's POV**

After joining the pack, we made our way to the clearing. Victoria knew where we'd be. There was no hiding or deceiving. She had created an army for war and we were going to take her on headfirst. I was not going to let her creatures get through. My family, Embry, and everyone else on the reservation was counting on us, and we weren't going to let them down.

We picked up the deathly scent on the air and watched as what looked like hundreds of newborns closed in on us. We attacked as one, driving a giant wedge through the center of the mass before spreading out to clear the field of as many of the creatures as possible. I watched through the pack mind as we fought, all doing significant damage while receiving much damage. I was thrashing, tearing limbs off with every movement. There were so many that it was impossible to not connect with one of them. It was just a matter of keeping them from getting an advantage on us.

One of the leeches actually got its hands on Seth, but Jake had been quick to get rid of that threat. The two were attached, even in the midst of this chaos. The same could be said for Paul and Leah. The grey wolves worked in tandem, shredding anything that came into their path. To be honest, they were both so vicious that I don't think you could say that either was protecting the other. They were just taking care of business, side by side.

The numbers were slowly dwindling. With the strength of the pack and the individual talents of the Cullens working together, we were destroying these unorganized newborns without suffering more than cuts and bruises. Then, all of a sudden, they were no more. We looked around the battlefield, puffs of smoke rising from the countless bodies that we'd destroyed. We all had one thought on our mind: Where was the leader? We'd found her new mate leading this group, but she was nowhere to be seen.

I began to feel uneasy. I couldn't really explain it, but something felt extremely wrong. It was almost like the time that…oh shit, EMBRY! I took off through the woods, ignoring Sam's shouts. I'd only experienced this sensation once before, and that was when I'd first phased. Something was wrong and going by how I felt, it had to concern Em.

I made it back to my house when I caught the scent. The pungent, deathly odor that had been plaguing my nostrils for the past several hours was lingering around my home. I phased back, throwing on my cutoffs as I ran into the house, praying that my family was still alright. I sighed in relief as I saw Mom and gramps in the kitchen having coffee. Mom ran to me immediately and threw her arms around me as I continued to search frantically for the one person that was missing.

"Where's Em!" I practically shouted.

"I'm not sure. Haven't actually seen him in a while." She said, still holding me tightly.

I got free of her grasp and ran my hand through my hair. He'd promised that he would be here when I got back. There had been a leech here, of that I was sure, and Embry's absence pointed in one direction. Someone had taken him. I ran out the door, phasing in midair to call out to the pack. They picked up on my thoughts and immediately began heading in my direction. I didn't know who this leech thought it was, but I was going to do anything to get Embry back…

**Embry's POV**

I heard chatter and after a few moments I began to be able to understand the words. Whatever they had used on me had been some pretty powerful stuff.

"Do you hear that? His heart rate is picking up." A female said.

"We better put him out again. Don't want him stirring too much before we're ready for the fun" another female said.

I opened my eyes and saw the world as a blur. It wasn't long before I felt a needle being injected into my arm and as its effects began to settle in, I got a quick glimpse at my captor.

Her skin was dark, but slightly paler than mine. She had dark hair and was small in figure, but her ruby red eyes shined.

"Mom?" I asked pointlessly, immediately being overcome by the darkness once again.

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I thought about writing the battle scene in depth again, but after two stories of trying to make it unique, I just didn't have any ideas for this one. Hope you found the little twist interesting enough to keep it from being too dull though!

Did you expect anything other than some type of a cliffhanger? Nothing like ending a chapter with things left unsettled! If you don't hate me yet, you might by the end of this note. It will likely be a while before I get another post up. Real life is swamping my time for the next few weeks, so I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to write again. If I get the opportunity, I might find a way to release one sooner, but there's a chance that it could be 3 weeks before I find the time to work on the next chapter. I do apologize and hope you all will rejoin me for the next chapter, whenever it comes out. As always, I love to hear your feedback and want to thank you for reading!


	10. The Safe Bet

AN: Well everyone, I apologize for the lengthy pause between posts. Real life has been quite hectic and it looks like that will be continuing for a little while. Still, got some time and decided to write, so I hope you enjoy! As always, I'd like to thank everyone who's been reviewing. Your feedback helps me and encouragement is key to pushing forward, especially with the disheartening direction that the site seems to be headed.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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_"The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but that's the way to bet"_

**Quil's POV**

I blazed through the forest, the pack right on my tail. My legs were burning after the fight that we had just powered through, but I couldn't afford to slow down. Someone had taken Embry and I had no idea what their reason was.

Even in my distressed state, something seemed off. I mean, there was no disguising the trail, no attempt to evade. The scent was straight forward, not crossing any of the nearby streams that could have at least diluted things. I almost felt like this had to be someone inexperienced, but why would they kidnap Em?

As the scent grew stronger, I quit worrying about why this seemed easy. I could feel Embry's presence getting stronger as the pull continued to prove the validity of the scent's path. He couldn't be too far away, I just knew it.

Suddenly I skidded to a stop as we approached an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Forks. We weren't technically in our territory anymore, but I didn't particularly care. Standing at the door was the redhead that had been responsible for all of this. I bared my teeth and prepared to launch at her as the pack approached behind me.

"I wouldn't do that pooch. If you so much as break one of my nails, I will have your mate killed" she said, leaning nonchalantly against the door.

Seeing that I had halted, she continued. "Now, go ahead and be a good boy and phase back. We have things to discuss. Inside." She finished, smirking.

I did as she asked and stood there, waiting for her to lead the way. Jake threw me a pair of shorts and I put them on without paying attention. Modesty wasn't really important to me right now.

As I prepared to walk towards her, she held up a hand. "Oh, and you too Alpha. I think you'll be wanted as well. However, if you want to see your little brother again, I suggest you order the rest of these filthy mongrels to stay out here." She sneered. What was she going for? I looked to my Alpha and heard him order the pack to stay outside. He didn't show his care often, but he wasn't going to try and put Embry in anymore danger.

The redhead opened the door and walked in, satisfied with the situation and beckoned for us to enter. I quickly went in, Sam right behind me. The hallways were long and curving, but we seemed to be heading into the center of the building. Finally we entered an open space and bright lights lit up a large storage space.

As I looked into the massive room, my blood began to run cold. In front of me, high on a platform was Embry. He was wrapped in chains against a steel structural beam. Even worse was the fact that I could immediately identify the woman with a blade in her hand, daring us to make a move. It was his mother.

"Well Quil, from what Laurent told Victoria before you mutts tore him to shreds, my little Embry imprinted on you. Now, I know that you haven't imprinted on him, but Laurent seemed to think you eventually would. I'm just hoping that seeing him in danger will give you the push you need. If I'm right, I want to see if we can play ourselves a little game." She chuckled coldly.

With that, she pulled out a needle and injected it into his arm. Sam had to grab me to prevent my attempt to find a way up there, but I froze as I slowly saw Embry begin to stir. His eyes fluttered open and immediately locked onto mine.

It was unlike anything that I had ever felt before. I could see into his very soul through his eyes. They were pulling me forward and I wanted nothing but to be right beside him. I craved Embry and my wolf wouldn't be satiated until he was with me. It was everything that I had ever been told, and I knew that there was no mistaking it. I had finally imprinted on my Embry.

**Embry's POV**

I was pretty much at home in this world by this point. I lifted my head groggily, feeling a wet nose nudging against my face. I opened my eyes to see my wolf looking at me, concern written all over his face.

He helped me to my feet and we suddenly caught a deathly scent on the wind. Without hesitation I hopped on his back and we took off towards the source. It wasn't long before we found the origin of the stench: A pair of leeches. One with bright red hair and the other was my mom. Either my mind was playing tricks on me or my brief glimpse of the waking world hadn't been wrong. She approached me, fangs bared and poised to attack, but the wolf stood between us. He knew I couldn't face her, but he had no trouble with it. I saw the redhead beginning to charge, but I was able to catch her off guard, keeping her from flanking my wolf. I don't know what my strength in this world came from, but I wasn't going to question it. If I could go toe to toe with a leech in this form, I'd help my wolf in whatever way I could.

I went back and forth with the redhead, parrying most of her blows and landing a couple of good hits. Occasionally I'd sneak a look at my wolf who seemed to be holding his own pretty well. Overall, I couldn't see how either side would end this fight.

Suddenly the fighting stopped at the sound of loud growl that drowned out everything else. I looked up to see a large brown wolf leaping down to stand between us and the leeches. The brown wolf took off, chasing the pair, and I felt the world beginning to slip away. We chased after the familiar wolf and to my surprise, my wolf wasn't fading with the rest of this world. It was time for us to both return to the surface.

My eyes shot open and immediately locked onto Quil. I watched him freeze as he fell into the trance that I could easily identify. Suddenly the redhead pushed him over, laughing as he toppled. I lurched to get at her for attacking my mate, a growl resonating from my throat. It came out muffled, however, and it was only then that I realized just how restricted I was.

I was wrapped in chains, holding me to something solid behind me. My mouth was covered by a thick rag. I was effectively rendered useless and began to thrash against my restraints, garnering only a cold laugh from beside me.

"All right, I think it's time to stop messing around. The stage has been set for my little game." My mother said darkly, running a cold hand across my cheek. I cringed from her touch and had to do everything I could to keep from letting my wolf explode out. I know that it's a powerful transformation, but even I don't think that I could survive the chains around me.

"Oh Em, Em, Em. You see what you've done to me? If it hadn't been for you and your little werewolf gene, I would have never had to go to Seattle. But no, you ran me out of my own home by telling me you were a monster. Then one of Vicky's newborns turned me into this. You see, Em? This is all your fault!" she sneered at me.

Something in me snapped this time. Before, I probably would have agreed with her, but not this time. I had tried to be a good son, and for what? To be abandoned and left to fend for myself. I felt nothing but anger rising up and thrashed violently against the chains.

"Ungrateful little mongrel!" she yelled, staring into my eyes and seeing the hate that boiled there before backhanding me, causing a growl to erupt from Quil. I know, it's horrible to hate someone who raised you, but I couldn't control it any longer. The years of neglect, disgust, and blame had finally tipped the scale.

"But alas, that's all in the past. I've come here today to settle a few scores, and your little wolf is going to help me." She said, smirking.

"So, Quil, I'm going to need you to listen closely. I'm giving you a chance to save your imprint. You just have to do a couple things for me. The first is to kill the lasting reminder of the bastard that left me with _him_" she said, pointing at me. "After that, you just need to kill…who was it Vicky, a pair named Edward and Bella?" The redhead nodded and I looked over at Quil, who had never taken his eyes off of me.

I watched as his eyes glazed over, entering some sort of trance as he turned towards Sam. The Alpha held up his hands, trying to show that he wasn't a threat, but once his pack brother phased, he had no choice. I watched in horror as the wolves began to go at each other, violently crashing into walls, pillars, and anything else that got in their way.

"It's funny what powers we can have" my mother stated as she watched this duel. "You see, I was always good at taking advantage of people's relationships. Part of why I was able to make Vicky over there send her army to distract everyone. With enough time, she might have succeeded, but I wanted my revenge now and keyed off of her fury about losing her mate. Getting your little friend there to imprint on you just made things so much easier. The more devoted people are, the easier they are to control." she whispered in my ear.

It all made sense. As a human, she'd always manipulated my emotions. She knew that because she was my mother, I'd always cave to her will. I always felt that I owed it to her to listen and strive to be as good of a son as possible, but it was never reciprocated. She just took and took, but never cared about anyone else. The woman had so much practice at playing with people's feelings that it fit her well as a leech.

I continued to struggle as I watched Sam and Quil continue to brawl. Sam wasn't giving it his all, but Quil was holding nothing back. I was afraid that Quil might actually be able to kill our Alpha in this state. This needed to end now.

I suddenly felt my wolf rise through my body, but just as he was there for me in his world, he wasn't leading me astray in this. His strength channeled into my limbs and I pulled with an unimaginable power. I could feel the chains cutting into me, but suddenly the sound of links snapping filled the air.

My mother looked at me in horror as I broke free of the restraints, finally allowing the wolf to surge through me entirely. The feeling was welcomed and I reveled in his fire as it consumed my body, transforming me and completely reuniting us again. I leapt off the platform and charged between my imprint and my brother, preventing Quil from progressing any further.

"Listen Quil, you have to stop. Do it for me. I know she has power, but think about what you're doing. This is Sam we're talking about. I need you to stop trying to hurt him. Would you really deny your imprint?" I pleaded, watching as he shook his head as if trying to clear out some cobwebs, which might have been funny if the situation wasn't so serious. Suddenly he looked up at me and we locked eyes. I could see _my_ Quil breaking through her control.

"Sam, Em, I'm so sorry!" he said, backing away from us. He was beginning to berate himself for being so weak, despite Sam's words of assurance. I quickly ran over to him and put my muzzle against his. Quil responded in kind and in a purely wolf maneuver, I licked his snout. I wanted to show him that I was there for him, even in this madness. We were broken from our moment when I suddenly heard a bickering between the two leeches.

"You said it was fool proof! How was that mutt able to break out of your control? Now I'm never going to get my revenge! I was stupid to ever work with a newborn like you!" Victoria shouted.

"Work with? You played right into my hand. Don't even act like you're relevant." My mother sneered.

Suddenly our minds met Sam's and we developed our plan. We charged at the duo, using their distraction to our advantage. Sam & Quil ripped the redhead apart quickly, while I slowly stalked my mother into the corner of the room.

"Listen Em, you're my son. We shouldn't be fighting like this." She cooed, attempting to talk her way out of the situation. Quil and Sam were at my side, preparing to do the work before I called them off. This one was something I needed to take care of.

I launched at her, locking my teeth around her neck immediately. She had been trapped and didn't even try and resist. She blamed me for her transformation into one of those creatures. I agreed that it wasn't a life I'd want to live, so in one final act of mercy, I quickly crushed her neck, severing her head from the rest of her body. Her scream was piercing and would haunt me until I died, but I would have felt even worse if I had allowed for someone else to do this for me. I had killed my first vampire…and it was my mom. I guess I should be used to having strings attached by now.

I fell back to the ground, phasing immediately. I may not have been in their battle, but this phase had taken a lot out of me. Suddenly I was being picked up by Quil, his arms supporting my weight as if it were nothing. Sam led the way out of the warehouse and it wasn't long before we began hearing the worried chatter of the pack outside. Finally we emerged through the final door and I could feel each of them approach quickly until Quil growled at them defensively. They took the hint and backed off, clearing a path for him to pass.

I felt kinda embarrassed being carried like this by Quil, but he refused to let anyone get near me as he walked by them and carried me through the woods. As awkward as it may have seemed, I basked in the comfort of his arms as we continued in silence, no words needing to be exchanged. It was perfect.

The trees thinned and suddenly we were standing behind his house. He quickly trudged on and into his house and I noticed his mom make a move to get up, only to be held back by his grandfather. The elder was no fool. No matter what his opinion on us being together was, he could see the devotion in Quil's eyes that came from a tradition that he still held sacred.

I sighed in contentment as Quil put me down on his bed, pulling me against him as we both thought about the chaos of the last 24 hours. Between the battle and afterward confrontation, we were both exhausted. Despite the silence, it still felt amazing. I knew that I was his as much as he was mine. I had finally gotten to the point where his wolf would recognize me as his mate and that made my own wolf content.

"I love you Quil…" I said, as sleep began to creep up on me.

"I love you too Em" he mumbled, molding me against him. His breathing steadied and it wasn't long before I joined him in finally getting some rest.

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Hey look, I didn't leave this one on a cliffhanger! Hope you enjoyed what I did with Em's mom. She just seemed like a fun villain to use, but maybe that's just me (Also, to note her power, it's kinda like a "relationship manipulation" concept. Not sure that it was my best, but I kinda enjoyed it). I hope that you'll review if you feel inclined, whether it be positive or negative (preferably constructive on the latter). Even if you don't provide feedback, thanks for reading!

Also, I'm not sure when I'll get the next one written. Life is continuing to be crazy as the month progresses, but hopefully I'll find some time to write a bit. Sorry for the delays!


	11. The Plunge

AN: Nothing can damage an ego like a big drop in hits & reviews haha. Not sure if it's the changes on the site, the length of time between updates, or general lack of interest in the story. Won't lie though, that kinda hurt. Eh well, enough of that. Thanks to those of you who did review! Here's another chapter. I don't know if I'll be able to post next weekend (another busy week), but we'll see. As always, I hope you enjoy and review if you feel inclined!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"_Everything east of the San Andreas Fault will eventually plunge into the Atlantic Ocean"_

**Embry's POV**

I felt an amazing sense of protection and warmth as I lay in the bed, wrapped in my imprint's arms. After the past 24 hours, and all of the chaos that had led up to it, we were finally able to be together. He was finally mine. Although I had been occupied with other things after imprinting on Quil and subsequently being taken in by him, I had been slightly afraid that maybe his wolf would find someone else more suitable for him. That worry was now long gone.

That didn't mean that I felt amazing, however. I still couldn't believe that I had done it. I know that it had been necessary, but I still couldn't wrap my head around it. I had killed my mother. The person who had given me life and raised me was gone, and at my hands no less. I no longer had the sham of a family that I had always accepted as normal, but I guess that had happened the minute she left me behind. Still, she had threatened my brother, my mate, my pack, and ultimately showed no care about me. As much as I hated that I'd needed to kill her, I know I would do the exact same thing if the situation was rewound.

The arms around me tightened slightly alerting me to my imprint's imminent waking. "Quit thinking so much. I can feel it rolling off of you" he murmured into my back as he pulled me closer into him.

I maneuvered myself so that we lay chest to chest. As comfortable as having my back molded into his chest was, I wanted to look at him. I could finally just take him in. I'd always thought he was something to look at, but the change had done wonders for him. His chest was broad, his muscles much larger than mine. He was still shorter than me, but you'd never suspect that he was anything less than 21. The curls atop his head and the youthful look that seemed permanently etched on his face were the only things that could ever be construed as young.

A small smile graced his face as he pulled me closer. "Like what you see?" he murmured, pressing his forehead to mine.

I blushed at the knowledge that I'd been caught checking him out. I mean, even if I'd always wanted this, we hadn't been this open with each other for long. It still felt a little awkward, but I wouldn't change it for anything. He was my mate, but it'd take a little time to actually adjust to the fact that he accepted that fact.

We lay like that for a while before his mom called out to us for lunch. I looked at the clock, realizing that it was already after noon. I guess that the fight with the newborns and then the last two had really drained us all. We threw on some cutoffs and headed towards the kitchen, both our stomachs rumbling as the smell of food hit us. A lot had happened since our last meal and it was only now that I realized just how hungry we both were.

We were overcome with the buffet presented in front of us. Piles of burgers and hotdogs, potato salad, and various other delicious foods were presented.

"I imagine you guys might be a little hungry" his mom chuckled, walking out of the kitchen. We wasted no time in sitting down, quickly beginning to inhale the platter before us. I had the full-blown appetite of a shifter again, that's for sure.

After we ate everything that was there, we grinned at each other sheepishly. That should have been enough food to throw a party, but we'd completely devoured it. I felt kinda like a pig, but my hunger was definitely satisfied. We moved everything into the dishwasher, at least trying to be somewhat respectful after his mother's kindness.

We walked into the living room, finding his mother and grandfather sitting there. "Why don't you two have a seat" the elder said.

We nervously sat down on the couch, waiting to hear the lecture that was about to happen. I know Quil had been hesitant to breach this topic with them and I hated that it had been forced out by recent events. Sometimes you just have to deal with it though.

"Is there anything that you two would like to say?" Old Quil asked.

Quil sighed before beginning. "There's no point in hiding it. Embry and I imprinted on each other."

"And what do you expect out of this relationship? You know that you don't have to be…mates…just because you imprinted, right? You can protect each other, be best friends & brothers, but it's not necessary for you to be anything more than that." his grandfather continued.

I held my breath, not daring to look at Quil. I know that he had said he loved me, but would he defy his family's wishes? It seemed obvious from his hints that the elder wasn't comfortable with the thought of us being together.

"I'm sorry Gramps, but I love him and I know that he loves me. He's my soul mate and my mate, and although I hope you'll understand, I am willing to leave if it is necessary. I love you both, but I can't put anyone before Em anymore. I've already hurt him enough" he said, clasping my hand in his.

"I can't say that I'm overly enthused at this development, but we're not going to kick you out or anything. You're still our family, even if I think your choice is slightly…unnatural. Still, you're both welcome here for as long as you want, whether that's through school or longer" he said, heading out the door. Although it wasn't quite as supportive as I'd hoped, I wouldn't complain. At least he was making an effort to show understanding, even if he didn't fully endorse our being together.

We headed over to Sam's for a debrief of what all had taken place over the past two days. Quil still felt guilty for attacking his Alpha, but Sam brushed it off, saying that he'd have done the same if it were Emily at risk and my mom's little power had definitely not helped anything. You can't help but to feel protective of your imprint. That's right, we actually admitted it to the rest of the pack. I guess the Seth/Jake situation had prepared the way for it to not be so much of a big deal, but I was still nervous. The pack was supportive though and I felt finally able to relax a bit.

After the meeting, we were released for the day. Even though we knew that duties would pick back up soon, Sam recognized that everyone was still exhausted after the past couple of days. For that I was grateful. Quil moved all of my things into his room. Although we weren't really looking to actively push forward too fast, I still felt a lot better with his arms wrapped around me. He passed me the clothes from my bins before finally opening up the small box before I could see what he was doing.

"What are these, Em?" he asked. I froze as I watched him pulling out several of the figures that I had carved over the years. For some reason I was really worried what he would think. Was I weird for making them? Or, more importantly, would he like them?

"They're…um…just this thing that I picked up doing. I found carving used to calm me." I mumbled, afraid to see his reaction until I felt his arms wrap around me.

"They're amazing Em. I wish you had shown us. They're extremely cool." He said, placing a chaste kiss on my lips.

I sighed in relief as we continued to unpack. He placed several of the figures around the room, rather than back in the box, however. I looked at him curiously as he did it, only to receive a shrug in return. "What can I say? We're wolves. It seems appropriate to have them out, not just hidden away." He said nonchalantly. It was then that I fully realized that I'd never have to hide anything from him. I had no desire to keep anything from him.

With that revelation, my separation from the pack seemed to disappear. I guess I felt like I didn't need to have these walls up to protect me from anyone. The relief of it seemed to dissolve my "ability" to remain distant, allowing the others to see freely through my eyes like I could theirs. You might think this would bother me, but I liked it. I had nothing to hide and from that point, it just made me feel like more of a packmate to them all.

After that first day, we continued our patrols. Despite having dealt with the latest threat, there was still a lot of vampire traffic through the area. We didn't really know why, as we'd expected that Victoria and her army had been the ultimate reason for our creation. Still, even if it was just dealing with rogues, we'd continue to phase. I honestly couldn't imagine stopping right now anyway. Spending anything less than an eternity with Quil seemed like a horrible concept.

We were running one of these patrols one evening when we caught something on the air. It seemed like another leech and we both took off towards the pungent odor. It wasn't exactly ideal, as we were the only two around. Everyone wanted to take their imprints out, so we'd drawn straws to see who would be stuck patrolling. Luck hadn't been on Quil's side this time, so he and I were the ones out here.

Sure enough, we came across 5 leeches, all with blood red eyes. They smirked as we approached, knowing they had the numbers advantage. I recognized where we were, and to say that I wasn't exactly happy with their choice of fighting locations would be an understatement. God I hated the cliffs.

As we neared, they charged, three going after Quil while the other two came at me. It wasn't a fair fight, but Quil and I each were able to end one of our attackers. Still, the numbers were against us. On top of that, our positions had changed, leaving us cornered. I looked behind me to see the edge getting closer as the remaining three approached.

As they stalked closer, something caught their senses and one of them turned around. I seized the opportunity to shred him as two wolves barreled out of the forest at full speed. They were small pups, even compared to Seth. I watched as one charged into the leech in front of me, taking him down quickly.

The other, however, didn't have nearly as much control of his momentum. He charged at the remaining leech, only to be thrown aside, straight into Quil. I watched in horror as Quil flew over the edge, absorbing all of the momentum from the flying wolf. The pup was able to scamper back up and attack the final leech, who went down easily at the hands of the pair.

The two wolves were coming to their senses, but I didn't have time to pay them any mind. I looked over the edge, not seeing Quil anywhere. The others were panicking a bit, but I ordered them down to the beach. I may not have official authority, but they weren't about to question me. I stepped back and sprinted towards the edge, launching myself over and towards the water and phasing mid-dive. I may have been petrified of this, but I would not allow that to keep me from going after him. Losing Quil was the scariest thing I could ever imagine.

**Quil's POV**

I felt the hard body of the pup slam into me and braced myself to try and stop him from crashing over the edge. Fortunately for him, I was big enough to be a pretty decent backstop. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't exactly an immovable object. The momentum proved to be enough to send me flying over the edge.

I stared up at the dark clouds before finally reaching the bottom of the cliff, landing with a giant splash. The waves were being uncooperative, a storm obviously on the way. My wolf body was not designed for this, but I couldn't concentrate on anything as I used everything I had to fight the current. Suddenly I felt my head crash into a rock, and as the blood began to flow, my body transformed back to human. The darkness began to consume me, and all I could think about was Embry. Of all the places for me to get hurt, this was probably the worst possible. Em hated the water.

With that fleeting thought, I began to sink into the murky depths of the ocean.

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Sorry, I recognize this one was shorter. Still, I feel like I'm coming closer to the end of this story. I'm not sure how many chapters are left, but only time will tell. Afterwards I'll decide on whether or not to write a new one. As always, I'll appreciate any feedback you provide. Hope you enjoyed!


	12. The Unicorn

AN: Sorry that it's been forever since the last update. I've been traveling and have been quite busy. Thank you to all of you that have reviewed, favorited, and alerted this story. It really means a lot to me. Hope that you enjoy this one!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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_"Never play leapfrog with a unicorn."_

**Embry's POV**

I breached the surface of the water, entering its murky depths. I could immediately feel the current pulling me around under the surface. This is what I always hated about the ocean. On the surface, it could look calm and the waves might seem relaxing. Underneath, however, it was unpredictable, capable of causing all sorts of issues. Still, I didn't have time to focus on my thoughts on this, as I still hadn't been able to find Quil.

Knowing that Quil would have surfaced if he could, I allowed myself to be pulled by the current. I was drifting out a bit, kicking to try and go with the flow of the water. I was beginning to panic until I felt my leg brush across something warm. I reached around and sure enough, I found my imprint as he continued to sink. He was unconscious, a scar leaking blood carved across his forehead. I wrapped an arm around him, kicking towards the surface. We were fortunate that there was still enough light to actually figure out which direction that was.

I could see the shore, but it was a couple hundred feet away. The current was powerful and I wasn't all that confident in my abilities to swim this alone, let alone hauling the dead weight of my mate. Hell, I couldn't remember the last time I'd actually tried swimming, but the basic concepts were still there. As I felt myself continue to drift away from the shore, I realized that I couldn't do this alone. I called out to my wolf once again, not wanting him to surface completely, but to help give me the strength that only he possessed. He had to know that his mate was in danger as well, and just like the first time, I felt his energy surging through me, but he remained just below the surface. With this newfound strength, I began to force my way back to the sand, all the while keeping Quil's head above the water.

After several exhausting minutes, I finally felt my feet touch sand. I quickly hauled Quil out of the ocean, finding it deserted with the exception of a lone boy running from the tree line.

"Is he OK?" he asked quickly. I didn't recognize him, but I'd never really paid much attention to people outside of Jake & Quil. He seemed like he was pack, but I still wasn't really sure.

The answer to that question was easy: No. His chest was still, and as I put my hand to his heart, I realized that he had no pulse. My wolf and I were beginning to freak, but I at least knew the proper thing to do in the situation.

I began chest compressions, alternating with breaths. The boy stood nearby, looking worried. The fact that he was naked was the only indicator that he was probably one of the wolves that we'd just encountered. As the rain began to pour, I continued my reps, praying that something would bring him back to me. It'd been several minutes and I was beginning to lose hope when finally he lurched over, coughing up water as I rolled him into the recovery position.

"Em" he choked out before I shushed him, stroking his head as he drifted back into unconsciousness. His breathing was ragged, but it was there, along with a heartbeat. I looked at the other boy now, seeing relief softening his features.

"Who are you?" I questioned, not wanting to betray our secret if I was mistaken.

"My name's Collin. My friend, Brady, was the wolf that…um…got thrown into him." He added guiltily.

"Where is he anyway?" I asked, scanning the area for another boy.

"He can't change back. I don't know why I was able to, but he feels the guilt for causing this. He was in the woods when I saw him last." He concluded.

I nodded, picking up Quil with the help of the pup. Three naked guys walking up the beach would have been grounds for calling the police, but modesty was irrelevant. I was exhausted, surprisingly cold, and still had Quil to worry about it. A streaking ticket was the least of my potential issues.

We breached the trees without encountering anyone, only to be met by the other pup. He looked distressed, which played a huge part in why he couldn't phase. You either needed to be exhausted or calm to change back, and he didn't seem to be either of those yet.

"You mind giving him a ride?" I asked the newcomer. He hunched down, allowing me to place Quil across his back.

I turned around to see that Collin had phased as well, leaning down to allow me a ride. I was grateful, as running right now seemed like more than I could handle. I told them to go to Quil's house and they took off carefully, seeming to know the way, the rain pelting us as we cut through the woods. I guess it shouldn't be too surprising that they'd know where to go on this small reservation, as the head of the Ateara family was part of the council of elders. Anyone that held the blood had a healthy respect for their heritage, including the tribe's leaders.

We reached the back door to Quil's house without incident and I got off of Collin, walking over to pick up Quil from Brady. I told the pups to come in if they could phase back, pointing to the cupboard where I knew Quil stashed a few pairs of shorts. Afterwards I carried him into the house, feeling mixed emotions that the place was empty. On one hand, I was glad that his mom wouldn't see us like this, but on the other, it wouldn't be bad to have her here just in case.

I lay him on the bed, covering his body in blankets. I wrapped one around myself as well, still feeling the effects of the ocean and storm's penetrating cold. After bumping the thermostat up a few degrees, I found some bandages and wrapped Quil's head. It was still bleeding slightly, but it looked as if his healing was beginning to take effect.

I sat on the edge of the bed, clinging to his hand as I felt shivers running through me. I wasn't sure if they were from the situation or from being actually cold, but I knew that I didn't like it. The only thing that was for certain is that I wouldn't be able to leave his side, especially after all of the times that he had stayed with me.

Quil's status remained stable as I was joined in the room by the two pups. Collin sat down quietly to the side, but the other one looked extremely tormented as he watched over Quil. I didn't really recognize either of them, but it wouldn't be long before they were as much my brothers as the rest of the pack. I decided to find out a bit about them.

We began to talk, trying to get Brady to calm down a bit. He was still upset that he hadn't been able to take down the leech as easily as Collin had and that it had led to this mess. I tried to explain to them that it was alright and that he'd heal, but I'm not sure who I was trying to convince.

"How did you guys come to find us anyway?" I asked, suddenly curious. I mean, most of us phased due to a major emotional event, or in Quil's case the pull of my imprint.

"I can't really explain it. We've both been feeling feverish, had random spurts of anger, and had some growth. I mean, it may not look like it, but we were much smaller than this before. But anyway, I at least felt restless, as if something inside me knew that I was needed. At that, I took off into the woods, only to find Brady doing the same until we both exploded into our wolves. We both knew the legends, but it was still weird to feel the wolf take over like that." Collin explained as Brady simply nodded. He was definitely the more outspoken of the two.

I was intrigued. Each of our phasings had been different. Mine had been emotional, Quil's had been tied to me, Seth & Leah had dealt with their father's death, and the pups seemed to just know that they were needed as pack. It was the first time I realized just how interconnected our wolves really were. Sure, I understood that I was tied to Quil, but it seems that as a pack our bonds go well beyond just being friends. It made me appreciate the brotherhood that we shared even more.

I went on to explain some things to the youngsters, as Sam wasn't here to do it. Having already gone through this with Jake, it wasn't hard, especially since they knew about the legends. Even though they understood the reason why they were here, I still went over some of the more important fundamentals. You know, controlling emotions, imprinting, pack mind, patrols, and other key points. With the exception of imprinting, they didn't go into a lot of details on those topics in the history books. It made me wonder if it was just something that Alphas could figure out, but I didn't linger on the thought for too long.

I also asked the pups questions, wanting to know about our new packmates. They were barely 14, and I felt bad for them entering this life at such a young age. Still, it wasn't something that could be controlled so we would just do what we could to make things easier for them. I also learned that they were best friends and linked by some distant blood, but pretty much already considered themselves brothers. Once Brady actually opened up, I found him to be a really nice kid. Ultimately, both of them seemed like they would be great additions to the pack, even if I hoped that they wouldn't be needed for an extended amount of time. We had to be getting to the end of this nonsense, right?

After a while the storm subsided and I told the two that they should probably go home and talk to their parents. Although I'm sure that they – like many of the families on the reservation – were probably aware of what was happening, it would still be good for them to talk about it. Brady seemed reluctant to leave while Quil was still out, but I told him to stop worrying about it and he eventually caved. I appreciated that he was so caring, but he definitely needed to stop beating himself up about it.

I was still sitting on the bed as Quil began to stir. I smiled down at him as his eyes flickered open. The groan that came from him was enough to remind me that he was still in pain. I made a move to get up and go find him something to help with that, only to be caught in Quil's firm grasp. He pulled me down to the bed, shrugging off the layers of blankets that were still piled on him. As usual, I ended up molded up against his chest, a sigh of content escaping his lips as I nuzzled against him. This was where I was meant to be. I knew Quil had fallen back asleep behind me and it wasn't long before I joined him. There was something about being in his arms that provided me with the greatest sense of security imaginable.

I woke up, still enveloped in the warmth of my imprint. The lights had been turned off and the door was closed, so I had to assume that his family had come back. Not sure how I felt about them seeing us like this, but I guess there was nothing that could be done.

After a while, I felt Quil's grip around me beginning to tighten, almost to the point of being painful. He was mumbling something, and seemed to be having a nightmare. I'd be worried about him if I could actually breathe, but it was beginning to be a difficult task. I attempted to break free, but it was to no avail. He was my dominant and had a significant strength advantage on me.

"Quil" I gasped out, trying to break him from his dream. None of it was working and I was down to one idea on getting out of this. Using all of my strength, I rolled, successfully sending both of us crashing off of the bed. Quil woke with a start, releasing me from his hold.

"What the hell!" he exclaimed, rubbing the back of his head. Then he caught sight of the bruise that had formed around my midsection. "Oh God…what did I do?" he asked.

I was hesitant to tell him, but I explained that he seemed to be stuck in a nightmare and wouldn't let me go until I threw us both off of the bed.

"I…I was dreaming that someone was trying to take you away from me. I'm so sorry I hurt you." He mumbled, running his hands over the already fading marks.

"It's alright Quil. I'm a wolf, just like you. No harm, no foul." I said, leaning down and placing my lips to his.

We got back off the floor, only to hear his mom call out to us for breakfast. We quickly pulled on some pants and I removed his bandage, happy to see that the wound was already gone.

We walked into the kitchen, another amazing looking meal presented before us. "I'm so glad to have you two here. It really lets me have my fun in the kitchen" Quil's mother chuckled.

We ate with her and Quil's grandfather. She asked about what had happened, acknowledging that she'd seen the bandage when she closed our room that night. I explained about the vampires, two new additions to the pack, and the trip into the ocean. Quil's hand tightened around mine when I mentioned jumping in and I rubbed my thumb across it to ease his worry. We both knew that all my other fears were nothing as long as I had him.

As expected, we had a pack meeting that afternoon, formally introducing Collin & Brady to the pack. We discussed the continued traffic of leeches through our territory and came to the conclusion that it might be time to talk to the Cullens. We weren't sure, but the thought that maybe their scent was acting as a beacon for vamps to consider this a safe zone was brought up. We decided to continue our patrols in the meantime, adding one of the youngsters with a pair of veterans for the time being. Collin & Brady fit in well with the group, absorbing information as it was presented to them. I was glad to have them around, but even with their excited attitudes about their new responsibilities, I still felt a bit bad for them for joining us at such a young age.

After the meeting, Quil & I went home. We were given the day off after having to patrol while everyone else got to go out. When we arrived, there was an official looking vehicle there. We walked in, slightly confused, to find a man in a suit with a stack of paperwork.

"Are you Embry?" the man said when we approached. I simply nodded, not sure how to take this guy's intrusion.

"Well son, I have some bad news. I'm sure you've heard about the killings and disappearances in Seattle. Unfortunately, your mother has disappeared in a similar manner. We found her belongings, but we believe that she was collected in the string of attacks." He said solemnly.

I stood there in shock. I had hoped to put everything about her into the past, but these reminders keep coming up.

"So do you have any other business here or was that all you wanted to say?" Quil asked, pulling me into an embrace.

"Actually there is something else we need to attend to. As she's formally been declared deceased, her life insurance policy has gone into effect, and as we have no will on record, it and all of her assets go to you as her remaining family. I just need you to sign a few papers."

I was stunned at that. I know mom would have probably have someone else in mind for this, but I couldn't help but to internally laugh at the irony that she was going to be supporting me whether she liked it or not. I still felt pain about knowing that I'd actually killed her – well, killed her again – but it was still necessary.

We signed the paperwork and I stared dumbly at the check that was enclosed with everything else after he left. I don't know why she had such a good life insurance plan (or that she had been saving up money while acting like she couldn't give me anything), but this was enough to keep me afloat for years. I immediately offered it to Quil's mother for taking me in, but she declined, offering instead to put it into an account to help it grow. I accepted without hesitation, not really understanding anything to do with how money worked.

I couldn't believe how things had turned out. I had a pack that I belonged in, a brother that accepted me, a family that treated me as their own, and an imprint. Sure, there had been downtimes, but I can't imagine being happier. I pulled Quil into a kiss, trying to express my undying love for him. I finally knew what it meant to be perfectly content.

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The quote at the beginning of this one may not fit as well as some of the others, but I couldn't help but laugh at the imagery of it. That being said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and if you feel so inclined, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for sticking with the story for this long!


	13. The Optimist

AN: Well everyone, this is the final chapter of Fighting Murphy's Law. I know that the story started quite dark, but I appreciate everyone who stuck through it to its conclusion. It was fun writing about an unusual pairing and I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, alerted, and favorited it along the way. You all have been great!

Disclaimer: I own nothing

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_"Murphy was an optimist"_

**Embry's POV**

Things continued to move forward as time passed. For the first year, we continued to see heavy vampire traffic until the Cullens finally agreed that it was time for them to go. Bella was now stable enough to relocate and with all of the "kids" having graduated high school, they would seem conspicuous if they remained for much longer. They agreed to remain available as allies if we ever had any large problems, particularly after we had banded together to deal with Victoria and her army.

Quil and I became closer during that time as well. Although we had been together since I moved in with him, we finally got to experience aspects of a normal relationship. We started dating, going to dinner together, sometimes with another couple, but preferring the chance to spend time together alone when we could. Quil was trying to be romantic, even though he wasn't used to it. I thought he was cute, but I occasionally had to remind him that I wasn't a chick.

Patrols remained a constant requirement, but with 10 of us, we got a lot more time off than before. Once the Cullens left, however, we were proven right that they might have been a reason for so many vampires coming through the area. We began to see a lot less of their kind, basically being able to drop patrols to once a day. Pack meetings became less necessary and we began to be able to enjoy the fun that came with regular life.

With the decreased threat, several of the pack decided to stop phasing. Sam and Jared left to be with their human imprints, not wanting to stay frozen at a young age while their girls got older. By this time Jared had finally told Kim about what he was, and she was ecstatic to have Jared so tied to her. Paul and Leah joined them as well, having no interest in living for eternity. They wanted to try a mortal life and Leah hoped that she would be able to have kids if she gave up phasing. I couldn't blame her, but I couldn't imagine not phasing.

Jake was the new Alpha, as it was in his blood. Quil was his natural Beta, as he was the veteran dominant of the pack. The two pups didn't question the decision at all, knowing that they were still learning to perfect their hunting at this point. Seth and I had no intention of seeking power, though I'm sure Jake wouldn't have been able to deny Seth if he had asked. That wasn't in the kid's nature though.

So now, our pack stands at 6 strong. We haven't had a vampire get through our borders and we're quite proud of that fact. It's been almost 2 years since Collin & Brady joined us. They were excellent wolves and took their responsibilities very seriously, even if they had decreased slowly as time passed. They seemed to enjoy being wolves and I could relate to that easily.

I'd been quite close to my wolf since regaining his trust. Although we didn't interact like we had in the past, I could feel his constant presence. He was happy to be with his mate. Quil and I had discussed how long we would phase, and for now, we had decided to continue until we had a reason not to. He knew that his grandfather was slowly beginning to show signs of his old age, and had been spending as much time learning the histories from him. We didn't talk about it, but we both knew that he'd likely be offered the seat on the council when the elder passed. From what I could tell, Quil was planning on carrying on the traditions that his grandfather held dear.

One of the highlights, however, was when we were dealing with something completely normal. Well, going by how worked up Quil's mom was, you'd think we were going through something major, and I guess to some, we were. It had been graduation day and we had been decked out in dress clothes, over which were draped dark gowns. It was stifling, and despite our argument that we should be able to wear whatever we want under the graduation gown, she insisted that we needed to look good underneath it. The argument was stopped at that, both of us knowing that we didn't stand a chance.

Naturally, it was one of the hottest days of the year and the school had held the ceremony outdoors. Quil and I met up with Jake, the final member of our class. Seth, Collin, and Brady were the last three remaining in school after that, and I had loved gloating about finally having escaped classes. Seth actually enjoyed school, but the pups always got worked up about how they'd still be patrolling _and_ having to go to school. They didn't realize just how easily they had it now with such little to patrol for.

Quil, Jake, and I sat together in order, no one between us. It was a pretty small school, so our last names had always kept us grouped, even when teachers were lame enough to enforce alphabetical seating. As Quil's name was called, an uproar erupted in the back causing Quil to shake his head, while Jake and I just smirked at each other. Unsurprisingly, the full pack had shown up, making a scene as always. They cheered for us as we crossed the stage one after another. Nobody else's cheering sections stood a chance.

After we were done, we all went to Sam & Emily's place for a cookout. Their house had remained a haven for us, even after Sam had stopped phasing. In the rare instance that one of us was hurt, we went there, and it was an almost daily occurrence that we stopped by for at least some kind of snack. She always had something ready, insisting that she loved doing it. We all pigged out on the feast that she and Kim had prepared. They even had a cake with a picture of the three of us graduates together. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think something like this would happen for me.

Afterwards Quil & I went home, finally getting to just be in each other's arms. As much as we loved everyone else, there was still nothing like being alone together. As we lay in bed, we began to discuss the future. We agreed that we should move out, but didn't want to go too far from his family. I understood and agreed wholeheartedly, and we were fortunate enough to find something for sale quite close. It was well within our budget, but the two bedroom, one bath house was perfect for us.

We broached the subject with Quil's mom, who was extremely sad to see her boys move out. She did, however, understand and gave me access to the money she had been holding for me. It was enough to cover everything, so we went to the owners to negotiate. When they found out that we could pay upfront, they knocked a decent amount off of the asking price in order to entice us. We agreed, signed, and after a couple of days, had the title to our own house. I was enthralled, but Quil seemed a little bit bothered that it had been my money that had paid for it. I tried to remind him that he and his family had been keeping me up for years and he seemed to get over it quickly as the thought that we had our own place finally sank in.

I began working for Jake, having picked up a decent amount of knowledge from hanging out with him over the years. Since we had committed to staying to protect the reservation, college was more or less out of the question. The council would have been willing to help us find jobs – as they had with Paul and Jared – but I couldn't think of anything better than being in Jake's shop. Quil had taken up a job in construction, working for the same firm that Sam had been with since graduating. He enjoyed the idea of being productive and was a natural at it, having the benefit of a wolf's stamina & strength.

The years went by with few changes. Unfortunately time had run out for Quil's grandfather, and he had passed in his sleep one night. It hadn't been completely unexpected, but it still bothered Quil and his mother immensely. Jake's father led the burial ceremony as I held onto Quil who couldn't hold in his emotion. I was sad as well, as the man had been as close to a father as I had ever known, but I held it together to comfort my imprint.

Quil's mother took the position on the council, until such a day that Quil asked for it. She knew that he was learning from the many history books that his grandfather had kept around, but understood that he wasn't ready yet. She made it a point to tell him that she was only holding the position until he was willing to take it, and for that he was grateful. Although Sam had taken on a position left vacant by our father's lack of care, Quil felt like it'd be out of place to join Billy Black and Sue Clearwater in making decisions for the tribe.

Not long after this turmoil, I quietly changed my name. It was a tedious process, but after a bunch of paperwork, I finally had all of the documents to allow me to call myself Embry Ateara. Technically we couldn't marry, but I still wanted to be able to take his name. Quil had asked me if I had any interest in hyphenating or something similar, but I shook my head at the thought. Being a Call meant nothing to me, but Ateara had an important heritage. I was honored to be able to join that line once Quil approved of it.

After several years, Sam broke off and started his own construction firm, taking Quil with him. They also added Collin and Brady, who had both continued to phase with us. Together, along with some others from the area, they proved to be the dominant construction firm in Forks and on the reservation.

Quil and I also discussed continuing the wolf pack bloodline and the Ateara name. Although we had no intention of giving up phasing, the idea of having a child seemed quite amazing to us. Sam and Jared had already each had a child, and Leah was pregnant as well. We discussed surrogacy, and odd as it was, we found a local who was willing to do it for us. She was Emily's younger sister, a 23 year old girl named Claire who had come to the reservation a couple of years ago. She was quite nice and was thrilled to be part of our decision to want to have a child. After 9 months of carrying him, she signed the newly born Quil Ateara VI over to us. She lived with us throughout the time, only moving out once our son was able to eat regular food. She was still welcome and visited regularly, but made no attempt to disrupt us as a family unit. Considering the drama that could have occurred, I was grateful to have found such an amazing person to help us.

And so you have it. After being at the lowest of lows, ready to end everything, I've come to a point in my life that I never thought imaginable. We have a stable income, a place of our own, the constant connection to the pack, and best of all, a family. I don't know if we'll ever give up phasing, as being that distant from our wolves doesn't seem like something that Quil and I are ready to do. Maybe we'll reassess that someday, but on the reservation, we're quite safe from the suspicions of others.

I guess we're living proof that no matter how bad things may seem sometimes, there's always a chance that things will get better. I could have succeeded in that cave all those years ago. I could have failed in recovering my connection to the wolf that resides inside of me. I could have failed at saving Quil from the ocean, but in the end, none of that happened. We're still here, going strong, and hopefully we'll have a long time together. As long as we have each other, we'll handle whatever obstacles that life throws at us.

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_Closing Note: Firstly, I would like to say something about the quote. I know that I went with a happy ending here, but the idea of Murphy being an optimist is really just a statement that despite all of the bad things he expected, that was still too optimistic for the world we live in. If he's an optimist, how bad can things really get?_

_Now, I'd like to thank some people. To my consistent reviewers, I'd like to express my undying gratitude. All of you have helped me keep going. I'd also like to express a final thanks to TurnItUp03. Your direction really helped me take this story to a place that I'd never have come up with on my own. I appreciate your help in creating what was hopefully an entertaining story._

_Well everyone, this is it, at least for now. I can't say that I have any other stories planned right now, especially as life continues to get busy. I'm not saying that I'm completely done writing (although that is a possibility), but don't expect anything out of me for a while. That said, thanks to everyone who stuck through this!_

_Until next time,_

_-SS11_


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